A Neptune Christmas Carol
by Mandy1229
Summary: Keith is haunted by Ghosts Lilly, Lynn, Meg and Beaver as they try to prevent Logan and Veronica from breaking up after Dick and Mac both refuse to believe that Lilly is real. This is a finished story and will be updated all of this week until posted.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: When writing this, I realized in the Epilogue that I had Keith knowing everything and needed to find a way for him to do so. So I had the Ghosts going through a list of Veronica and Logan's friends trying to fix things and finally ending up needing Keith to do so. This is a six chapter story and is already written so I will be posting for the next several days until it is done.

Chapter One

Keith woke up, looked around his bedroom then frowning glanced at the clock at the clock. Seeing the blue block numbers were flashing midnight, he got out of bed and went to see if it had been Veronica arriving that had woken him up. Once in the small living room/kitchen he looked at the note she had left him the night before stating she would be with Mac and sighed, wondering if she had had another fight with Logan.

Going to her bedroom, he saw that her door was ajar and upon pushing it open he saw that her bed was still made and there was no evidence of his daughter having been there since he had gone to bed.

Checking the lock on the door and then looking around, Keith went to back to bed, deciding that he was overreacting. Once back in bed, half asleep, he thought about his little girl. Veronica and he had unwritten and unspoken rule that he wasn't told when she spent the night with Logan, but he always knew the truth.

"That's rich." He heard the female voice and looked around and saw there was no one there.

Shaking his head, thinking he was beginning to lose his mind, he turned off the light and pulled the comforter up so that it was covering him. Just as he was about to go to sleep, he frowned as he realized that the voice he had heard was vaguely family.

"Whose there?" He asked sitting up and reaching for the gun that was kept in the night stand drawer. "Show yourself."

There was the sound of low feminine laughter then the words "Or what?" A voice floated out at him from behind the small wing back chair in the corner.

Standing, gun in hand, Keith turned on the light only to see no one at all behind the chair. Going to the closet, he checked inside and then under his bed. Ruling out all hiding places; he went to the living room and found the right piece of electronic machinery.

Returning to his bedroom, he pressed the button to check the room only for the machine to show that there were no electronic bugs. "What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing much. I just that I need your help." The blond now sitting on his bed wearing the bloody pep squad uniform with the bashed in head, looked at Keith Mars and said "We have to save Veronica from herself. Oh we have to save Logan, too."

Blinking a bit, Keith looked at the foot of his bed again, but nothing had changed. A clearly dead Lilly Kane was seated there. Rubbing his eyes, beginning to convince himself that this was a dream, he ignored the blond and turned the light off.

Tossing back the covers, he was a bit surprised when they suddenly flew back up towards the pillows up at the top of the bed. With that he muttered to himself "This is a dream, Keith."

"No, it's not. Though if it makes you help me, sure believe it is a dream." Lilly offered then looking at Veronica's dad said "At least you didn't yell at me like the last person I visited. The person before that was convinced I was the result of an alcohol induced nightmare. He vowed to give up drinking for the upcoming New Year."

"The new year isn't for three weeks." Keith replied then shook his head as he tried to figure out why he was hallucinating and seeing Lilly Kane. He had dreamed of her for months as she accused him in his dreams of letting her real killer go free but they had ended with Aaron Echolls arrest.

"I know but Dick has never been very practical." Lilly replied. "Then Ghostworld had the nerve to tell me to stop annoying her. When I told her that I was here to help Veronica, she suggested that then I should be annoying Veronica and maybe I should have thought about helping her while I was still alive."

"Okay, I will play." Keith said now convinced that somehow he had been slipped some kind of illegal drug. "Why are you here, Lilly?"

"I told you, I need your help to fix things. It would have been easier if Dick or Cindy had agreed because you will need their help later but for now, I guess the best way to fix this is to let the Ghosts haunt you."

"Dick and this Cindy; who I don't know?" He asked with a smirk.

"Oh." Lilly deflated a bit then frowned "Wait, I saw you talking to her in one of the past events. You must know her. Short like Veronica, dark hair that curls a bit, she used to date Beaver that psycho."

"You mean Mac?" Keith asked as he pieced together that part of the puzzle.

"Yes, Mac. Cindy. Ghostworld according to Dick; when we were in school. Anyhow, she is going to be needed at point and Dick as well, so we thought that we would just haunt them, but she had the nerve to yell at me and like I said, Dick thought I was the result of a nightmare."

"I believe you mentioned that already." Keith replied. "So, just what is it you need from me?"

"First of you, you have to tear off your blinders about Veronica and we are going to take care of that. Veronica hasn't always told you the truth and unfortunately that has caused a lot of problems for the two of you. Which is odd because I always thought she trusted you with everything; but then with how my parents and so called friends overreacted to my death and well..."

With a shrug, Lilly looked at Keith and said "My mother really only cared that I embarrassed her by dying and my dad, well he was upset but not so much that he changed his behavior. My friends thought that they were rallying around Donut but he was an ass who caused most of the troubles."

"What do you mean?" Keith thought back to the past and tried to figure out what Lilly was talking about.

"See, Donut broke up with Veronica and instead of telling Logan why, made it seem like it was Veronica's fault. So when she refused to go against you, he thought he was standing up for my parents and Donut who made things worse. Anyhow, shit happened and Logan was keeping his secrets... Logan was an ass, but he was an ass for a reason." Lilly said with an annoyed sigh.

"Either way, you will be seeing the real truth and are going to be really, really angry with Logan but you shouldn't be. You should be mad at Duncan and me and my parents. Not idiotic Logan. And Vee too, she did some pretty stupid shit herself."

Shaking his head, Keith was swearing off Mexican food as he looked at Lilly and said "So, what is this about."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow night you will be visited by three ghosts. The Ghost of the past, the Ghost of Now and the near future and the Ghost of Veronica's future if these things don't change. Anyhow-"

"Lilly, I have read A Christmas Carol, seen several different versions including my personal favorite the Bill Murray Scrooged version." He replied dryly.

"Good, great, then you know how this goes.:" She said beaming a thousand watt smile at him.

"Lilly it is two weeks before Christmas, shouldn't this be happening on Christmas eve." He asked with a slight chuckle then frowned as he realized this was all a dream and that he was talking to himself.

"No and I can prove that you are wrong about this being a dream." She replied with her own smirk. "Tomorrow you should be at Cho's pizza parlor around noon. I will be setting up for my plan. At a little after twelve, Logan Echolls is going to offer to let Cindy Mackenzie stay at his penthouse suite while he is off skiing in Aspen with Dick. Oh, and Veronica and he broke up last night."

"I could have predicted that one all by myself." Keith said a bit relieved to hear that the volatile on and off again relationship between his daughter and Logan Echolls was once again off.

"You shouldn't be." Lilly replied quietly. "Trust me, on this. I get why you believe what you do, and you are going to hate him even more at some point tomorrow night, but sir, Logan has had horrible things happen to him that no one but Veronica knows about. They are each others soul mates and simply put the only ones that can help each other."

Sensing his rejection of that idea, Lilly smiled sadly then said "You will soon see the truth."

Keith entered Cho's for his takeout order trying to convince himself that he wasn't here because of his late night nightmare. However, Veronica had come home this morning before her last winter final and had quietly told him that Logan and she had broken up. Seated in an out of the way corner, he saw Mac entering the pizza shop and was about to wave at her when he saw her join a tall blond girl two booths away.

Hearing the blond talking about how she didn't understand why Veronica would dump Logan when all he had been attempting was to protect her and Keith frowned curious as to what was going on.

When Mac protested and said Veronica didn't need a body guard and that Logan should have at least warned Veronica, Keith was now very unhappy at the idea of his daughter being in enough danger that Logan had felt it was necessary to go that far.

The blond stood and hugged Mac, stating she would be back at the end of winter break then left to get into the now arriving taxi. Keith was about to walk over when he saw Logan entering the pizza parlor with Dick Casablancas. The blond walked to the counter and he watched as Logan stopped over to see Mac.

"How angry is she?" He was asking.

"Angry, Logan. What do you expect? Your bodyguard made her freak out." Mac stated. "We spent most of the night talking and she just feels like you don't get that she is trying to do her job."

"When did it become her job to track down the Hearst rapist?" Logan asked a bit caustically.

"Logan, you know why she is doing this." Mac admonished. "You off all people know that she can't let someone like this walk around free, as long as she can do something about it. I understand it from both sides. Wanting to protect her and her not wanting to be protected."

Watching as Logan ran his hands through his hair, clearly frustrated; Keith listened as he admitted that loving Veronica was very difficult. "I hate the way she puts herself in danger all the time. That she doesn't trust me to help..."

"Logan, trust is a very big problem for Veronica." Mac reminded him. Hearing her phone ringing, she answered it and stated. "Yes, thanks for calling me back. Our dorm door is having problems with closing and we really need it looked at immediately. Its not locking and with everything going on campus..."

Mac protested when the person told her it would be done after the new semester had started "But I was staying in the dorms over the holidays..."

When she hung up, she was counting to ten as she tried to figure out what to do.

"What's going on?" Logan asked.

"Parker and I noticed our dorm room door isn't catching when we lock it. Maintenance says it will be taken care of after the New Years." She answered

"And you aren't going home, are you?" Logan stated. Seeing her surprise, he said "Unlike what you may think, I do pay attention. So that you know, what I am about to suggest isn't because I want you use you to fix things with Veronica."

"As if I would let you." She replied thinking on how broken the blond had been the night before and how she had taken Veronica back to her empty family home to let her get all of her pain and anger out.

"Listen, why don't you crash at my suite? I have a spare room and I promise my best friend won't be around to annoy you. I promise to keep him out until we leave on Thursday. Dick and I are heading to Aspen for a few days before Christmas; there is an empty suite at the Grand. All paid for until the end of the spring semester.

Mac considered turning him down, but she hated the idea of crashing with Veronica and her family had left on holiday two days before. Looking at Logan, seeing his brown eyes staring at her., she said "Are you sure?"

"Yes, like I said, we will be gone and it is already paid for. Someone might as well be staying there." He replied trying to avoid making it look like he was being a good person. "Seriously, why not just stay until they get your door fixed?"

"Fine, but I-" Before Mac could finish that statement, Dick walked back and saw Mac sitting in the booth that Logan was near. Grunting at Logan, he pointed at the pizza box then at the door before heading straight out.

"Here." Logan gave her the key from his wallet, then said "Dick and I are heading to San Diego to pick up our new ski equipment. I won't let him up into the suite. Just promise me that Veronica won't go all tasering away on my ass for letting you stay, okay?"

"Its a deal." Mac said then seeing her own vegan pizza arriving, thanked him once again but before Logan could reply she heard the impatient sound of a horn. "That horn screams I am Dick and I have the patience level of a sugared up five year old promised an ice cream cone."

With a chuckle, Logan nodded at her and walked towards the door never seeing Keith Mars and never noticing the blond smacking him upside the head as he walked through the exit door. Blaming the slight pain on the door hitting him, Logan hoped up into the driver seat and turned to glare at Dick who looked at him with a scowl and said "What?"

"She is right, a sugared up five year old." Was all he replied as he drove to the beach so that they could eat their lunch.

Keith didn't move, his mind on all he had seen and heard, then realized everything had happened exactly like Lilly had predicted in his dream. Watching as Mac asked for her own pizza to be boxed up, he waited until she left, paid for his own food and went back to his office, his mind whirling.

Seeing Veronica sitting at her desk, with dark circles and a fake smile on her face had Keith curious as to what she would tell him when he asked if everything was okay. "Yes, its fine. Logan and I just had another argument, nothing new. I will be over it by tomorrow, I promise."

"Whose fault was it this time?" He asked as Logan's words from the pizza joint reverberated in his brain. "Yours or his?"

"Moi?" She asked fluttering her eye lashes at him. "It's never my fault, don't you know that as my dad you are supposed to want to tar and feather him?"

"I am always on your side." He replied as he pulled her into a hug. His mind still hadn't settled down as he offered her some pizza then went into his office. Making a few checks on the computer, he sent out an e-mail and got a very quick reply an hour later.

Shutting down his computer, he looked out at reception and hid his worry as he realized that Logan HAD in fact hired a bodyguard for his daughter. Reading what Logan had told the firm, he sighed as he realized that this passive parenting he had been doing for the last few years might need to be changed, because clearly Alicia was right, he had let Veronica get too involved in his work and now he was paying for that.

At the time he had thought it was what she needed to deal with everything going on in her life, but clearly he should have been monitoring her better. Now, she would be harder to reign in but he was beginning to realize if he didn't, he might lose his daughter to one of the monsters that she still didn't realize were out there. Monsters that made Aaron Echolls and Cassidy Casablanca look like garden variety snakes in the grass.

LoVe

Earlier that morning:

Mac woke up alone, startled to realize she had fallen back to sleep asleep in her room. She had reluctantly been planning on heading to work in the college's IT department for some overtime but it was noon and there was no way she would make it to the campus on time. Groaning when she realized she had forgotten to call Parker, she quickly dialed the blond.

"Its fine, just meet me at that pizza parlor you like so much." Parker said with a slightly lower mutter about Veronica stealing Mac away the night before. Mac frowned, Parker and she were friends, yes but Veronica and she were closer than she ever would be with Parker. Yet Parker had been acting possessive of Mac's time for a couple of months now. Maybe looking for a new roommate would be a good idea this spring.

When Parker said no one had shown up to fix this door room door, Mac scowled, she wasn't thrilled with being alone in the dorm with a faulty lock and couldn't believe the school wouldn't do anything to fix it today.

Looking around her bedroom, she considered staying at home but she had promised her parents not to do that. She could always spend the week with the Mars family but she knew that Veronica was licking her wounds as a result of her latest separation from Logan and Mac felt like she would be intruding on their family time.

With a sigh, Mac stood, grimaced when she saw how wrinkled her clothes were and went to change. Returning to her room, after her shower, she was standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself and frowning at what she saw.

"You spend way too much time navel gazing for a hottie like you what you should be."

Shocked to realize she wasn't alone, Mac quickly turned and gasped at the blond wearing a Neptune Pirates Prep Squad uniform standing at the foot of her bed, braiding her long straight blond hair. "You're dead, you need to stop annoying me!"

"Duh, it was all over the news. If I hadn't been dead, I would have made sure they used a different pic of myself, I always hated that photo." The blond said as she walked over and peered into the closet door that was slightly ajar then began to flip through the clothes handing on the bar. "You have got to get Veronica to take you shopping. Seriously, I mean, I got it when you were in high school, you just wanted to disappear, but common Mac, at some point you have to stop hiding."

"I tried that it didn't go over too well. Did you forget my boyfriend turned out to be a multiple murderer and rapist who jumped off the Neptune Grand?" She dryly tossed out there. "Though, I guess since you were already dead, you might have missed that fact."

"Nah, I saw. I don't get what you saw in that loser, still don't. What on earth did you see in that sad sack? Cassidy Casablancas was the only person at Neptune High even more depressing than my brother, Duncan." The blond girl said as she flipped through the clothes hanging there. "Okay this will be perfect, you need to wear this tonight."

"Perfect for what?" Mac asked as she saw the thin silk shell in the salmon color her mom had bought her a year before. She still didn't know she still had it in her closet.

The ghost replied as she looked through the pants sitting on the shelves. "These will do for pants."

"You are insane." Mac said staring in disbelief at the blond. "Wait, no, I am insane, I am arguing with a ghost and I don't even know what you are talking about. Why are you here? I mean, why aren't you visiting Veronica or Logan, or even one of the other 09ers. I wasn't even on your radar when you were alive."

"Just because we weren't friends doesn't mean I wasn't aware of you." Lilly said softly. "I was aware of who you were. I knew a lot about you. I knew that you were smart but shy. When I was alive, it was easier to just trust those closest to me. Lot of good that did me."

Mac frowned then said what she had always wanted to when Veronica felt sad or guilty about Lilly and her death. "Well maybe if you hadn't cheated on Logan with half the guys in school and screwed his dad."

Lilly gave her a sad smile and said "I know that you don't understand. I have watched you since you became close to Veronica. You don't understand why she is so forgiving to me, for my lies and omissions. I don't understand that myself. You see the real me, not the idealized version that Veronica now sees. The tarnished version that Logan remembers and feels guilty about. It's why they are so screwed up and why I am here."

"Like I said, why aren't you visiting Veronica or Logan then?" Mac said as she pulled on a pair of shorts and a white spaghetti strapped shirt then a pale gray button up shirt over it. Kneeling to find her white canvas sneakers, she grabbed a pair of socks from her dresser and finished getting dressed.

"I really wish you would listen to me." Lilly said with a heavy sigh as she watched Mac dress. "What you are wearing is not going to get you any attention."

"I am going to get a vegan pizza pie at Cho's. My family is gone and I am going to spend the night watching old movies. I am also grateful that I am not in the middle of an argumentative and self destructive relationship like my best friend." Mac replied as she tried to run her hair brush through her now tangled hair.

Mac was about to leave when she felt a zing of electricity and fell onto her bed. Hearing herself talking, she saw the events that had happened two days before and screamed in annoyance at Lilly as she repeated her entire last visit for her.

_"You are going to be visited by three ghosts." Lilly stated. "You should know, we tried not to involve you, but after two days of arguing since the other possible helper was too resistant to the very sight of me, you are it."_

_"You should go back to your first choice, I don't believe in ghosts." Mac stated._

_"I tried to visit him two nights ago. He actually thought that seeing me was the result of bad tequila, can you believe that?" Lilly said frowning as she recalled the visit to the fraternity toilet where she had watched the blond sticking his finger in his throat to deliberately throw up._

_Mac shook her head then looked at Lilly. "Are you losing your mind? I have no reason to be visited by ghosts. Let alone ones directed by yourself. Also, didn't they visit on Christmas Eve?" _

_"No, I am as sane as I ever was and like I said, we tried but now you are it." Lilly replied ignoring her later statement._

_"That isn't saying much." Mac muttered as she tied her hair up in a messy knot on her head to prepare to study for her last exam._

_"Hey, I thought you were a nice person." Lilly said with an offended expression on her face. "I offered to be your guide, because I like you."_

_"Okay, you say I am the Scrooge character in this little drama so, tell me Lilly, what am I going to change by embracing the holidays." She asked with a scowl on her face. "Lets just short cut this mess, tell me what to do to change and I will do it, maybe."_

_"If I told you why, it wouldn't be necessary for the ghosts to visit you. Anyhow, once you change your attitude, you are going to help fix Logan and Veronica which is what makes me happy." Lilly replied not explaining that just because this was happening during the holidays, didn't mean it had anything to do with her attitude towards Christmas._

_"Lilly if you are supposed to be Marley, shouldn't you be wrapped in chains and visiting me at midnight in say about two weeks." Mac sarcastically asked. "Aren't the ghosts supposed to be visiting me at one, two and three as the bell tolls, also during the night?"_

_"Yes, but there is a great New Years eve party beginning upstairs and I will be busy starting at midnight tonight, so I am finishing my assignment early for once. So Cindy MacKenzie, you will be visited by the ghosts of the past, present and future."_

_Mac watched herself arguing with the blond who insisted that if it wasn't her it would be someone else who might not want to help save Logan after seeing the past. When she had suggested that maybe just maybe Lilly should be annoying Logan and Veronica then, the blond threw up her hands and said "Well I guess that means we go with plan C, though you should know, it doesn't let you off the hook from helping."_

"I warned you. Well guess what, now we had to get Mr. Mars involved." Lilly was saying as she seemed to be taking Mac's pulse. "You know for a smart girl, you should know better than to let your hair dryer cord end up in water."

Mac stood, glared at the blond, who shrugged her shoulders then rolled her eyes back at Mac. Grabbing her keys, Mac walked out of her childhood room and down the hallway reminding herself that she needed to come back and grab her stuff since the house would be without water for the next two weeks.

In the driveway, she sat in her car and tried to wrap her mind around her hallucination. Grabbing her phone, she debated calling Veronica but decided that she would keep this to herself, because she had no idea why she was seeing Lilly Kane while wide awake.

Arriving at Cho's, she joined Parker and after a talk that had her wondering about a new roommate again, she watched the blond leave, ordered and paid for her pizza and drank her drink as she waited for it to be brought to her when she heard the sound of Dick's voice. Mac frowned and hoped he didn't see her; she quickly picked up the menu when she felt someone bump into her table.

"Mac?" She could almost hear the unspoken words that she was sure he wanted to ask her.

Wincing as she saw Logan's blood shot eyes, she found herself defending Veronica in spite of agreeing in no small part with him about the dangers her friend took. A phone call later, she was furious and wondering if she dared impose on Veronica over the holidays.

Listening to Logan's offer, she felt a small sense of envy when he said he was going to Aspen. She had always wanted to celebrate the holidays with real snow. Seeing his sad expression and then the almost desperate emptiness in Dick's eyes when he sauntered over to where they were standing and found that she was glad that she wasn't an 09er.

Finding herself taking him up on his offer in spite of it being at the Grand and Mac watched him leave. Picking up the key card, she put in her back pocket, hoping Veronica wouldn't be upset at her taking Logan up on his offer.

LoVe

Keith sat down in his office, Veronica had left for the day and he leaned back in his chair, trying to rationalize all that had happened the night before and that day.

"Stop thinking so much." He heard. Looking up and seeing Lilly seated in his client's chair, he frowned only for her to add. "I spent the day setting up everything that needs fixed. Now you need to do your part. You heard what Logan said about the danger Veronica is in. Do you really think she went home like she said? No, she didn't. Instead she in on campus doing research to track down this pervert."

Keith sighed then said "I know and I am listening but Lilly what exactly do you want from me?"

"Just for you to open your eyes and really, really look at your daughter. Yes, Veronica caught my killer, but the cost was more than you have any idea."

"Are you talking about her rape? Cassidy is dead, she got to confront him but there can be no real closure in regards to that." Keith replied as he tried to stay calm. When he thought about what that sick bastard did to his daughter, it made him want to go and revive the little bastard and kill him again.

"No, and yes." Lilly admitted. "You need to face that it was more than her rape, it was her mother leaving, her friends turning on her, it destroyed her ability to trust. The lies and the secrets that were revealed did more damage than you know. Plus her working for you, the cheating spouses and back street deals she sees. Veronica has closed out so many people or buried her head in the sand as she desperately reaches for normal. Its why she hooked up with Donut her senior year, but there was nothing normal about it."

"I agree, especially with his keeping secrets about Meg being pregnant." Keith said fuming when he thought about how Veronica had helped him escape town.

"I wish that was what I was talking about." Lilly said with a guilty expression on her face. "There are things you don't know that are even worse. Mr. Mars, I wish I could say more but I am not allowed to tell you, you need to see it for yourself."

Keith felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he listened to what Lilly was saying and began to wonder if this was his subconscious way of making him face that his daughter was broken.

"No, this isn't a dream or your subconscious." Lilly said slightly frustrated with his insistence on believing it to be so. Her mind went to what was about to happen and Lilly knew she had to leave and get Keith to head towards his own place.

When she faded out, she saw Keith grabbing a file from his cabinet and put it in his briefcase before heading towards the exit. Watching as he locked the door and walked down to where his Crown Victoria was waiting, she kept a close eye on him as he drove home.

She saw Mr. Mars entering his apartment complex and went to track down Veronica who sure enough was at the college library doing research on the rapist.

LoVe

An hour after Veronica arrived home, Keith hung up the phone and went to check on his daughter who was in her room studying. "Veronica, I have to head over to the Camelot."

Nodding that she heard, she looked up and saw he was carrying his camera and asked "Cheating spouse."

"No, insurance fraud." He replied then when she had gone back to studying, he stated "I thought you were finished with your exams."

"This is the book for my PI's license." She said lifting the book to show him the cover. When he had left, Veronica closed her book, lifted the picture she had hidden inside. It was a picture of Logan and her earlier that semester. Running her fingertip down his face, she wished she could find a way to make things work but Logan refused to realize that he had to accept her as she was.

LoVe

Keith got his pictures and was on his way home when it happened. A car accident in the other lane. Stopping to help, he called for the medics and got the first driver out from behind the steering wheel of his luxury SUV. Seeing it was Theodore Sinclair, he asked if the man was okay.

"I'm fine. What about the woman that hit me?" He asked leaning against Sheriff Mars car. Watching as the man checked on her, he called out if she was okay again.

Keith looked at the woman and said "She's fine, just drunk."

Coughing, Mr. Sinclair walked over and saw what Keith had seen. An empty bottle of vodka was seated next to her and she had one between her thighs.

Feeling a bit dizzy, he walked back to the Crown Vic and leaned against it watching as Keith grabbed his camera and began to document the accident.

Just as he went to take a photo of the inside of the car, they heard a siren in the distance. The driver's head came up off the steering wheel, looked around panicked and heard the sirens herself.

Starting to call out a warning, Mr. Sinclair could only watch as she put her car in reverse and then pulled out, pushing the gas pedal the floor as she hit Keith and drove off leaving only Theo there to tell the arriving medics and CHP officers who arrived what had happened.

Giving them his information watching as Keith was taken to the hospital; he heard the question and looked at the investigating officer. "He has a daughter, Veronica. I am not sure where they are living but he is the former Sheriff here in Neptune County."

"Thank you. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" He rejected their offer stating he felt fine only to almost fall over. Agreeing to go to the hospital, he added. "The woman, she was pretty drunk. Mars was taking photos with his camera. I think he might have gotten a picture of her license plate."

LoVe

Veronica and Mac rushed into the hospital up to the information desk. "My father he was brought in, it was a car accident on Route 119."

"Ms. Mars, I'm Officer Wilson of the California Highway Patrol. I was the one who called you." Stated the man standing behind her holding a police incident book. "Your father is in the process of being checked out. He was helping with a car accident when the female driver came to. She hit your father with her car and drove off. We rushed him here but I haven't heard anything yet."

"Thank you." She said then hearing her name being called, looked at the nurse who was approaching. "I am Veronica Mars."

"Please come with me, Ms. Mars." When Mac was beginning to follow the nurse said that she only could bring Veronica at this time.

The officer looked at the brunette and after getting her name and information asked "Would you know why Mr. Mars would have been on this road at this time of night?"

"He is a private investigator; it was probably for a case." Mac replied not telling him anymore, not that she knew anything more than what Lilly and Veronica had told her. Veronica had called her, terrified for her father and upset when her car was blocked in and needing a ride. Mac had quickly driven over to get her and they had rushed straight to the hospital.

"Excuse me, Officer Wilson, how is Mr. Mars?" Mac turned and saw the oddly familiar looking man who was inquiring about Veronica's dad. Seeing the bandage, she realized this was the person in the second car.

"I haven't heard yet, Mr. Sinclair. His daughter was just taken back to by a nurse. Ms. Mackenzie, when Veronica has a moment, please have her contact us." Mac saw the way that the man with the salt and pepper hair was looking at her, half stricken and half eager to talk to her and mumbled something about checking on Veronica.

Thankfully the nurse came back and said "Your friend would like you to join her."

Looking back at her biological father, she said "I will let Veronica and Mr. Mars know that you were checking on him, sir."

With that, she quickly rushed off, unable to face the man raising Madison any longer. Arriving at the hospital room, she saw Veronica seated near her father and asked "How is he?"

"They said bruised ribs, and a head injury that bled a lot. He has no contusions or permanent damage. That he should be waking up some time tomorrow morning." Veronica said wiping tears away.

Seating herself near Veronica, she asked hesitatingly "Do you want me to call Logan for you?"

"No, please don't." Veronica said her mind on how unsettling it would be to have her ex boyfriend there. Looking at Mac, she saw the uneasy expression and asked "What is it?"

"The second car, it was Theodore Sinclair." Mac whispered.

"Oh." Veronica said now getting why Mac was so unsettled. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. This is about your dad." Mac said firmly.

LoVe

"Keith, time to wake up."

Yawning, Keith woke up not sure who he was expecting to see, but the woman sitting there was a shock. Rubbing his eyes, he saw the dark haired woman sitting there wearing a somber dark red robe lined with ermine.

"I thought you were dead." He replied then shook his head at the inane comment.

"Yes, well no. I have to do some good deeds to make up for committing suicide." The dark haired woman said with a sigh as she stood and moved towards Keith was saw he was laying in a hospital bed with Veronica asleep on a nearby chair.

"Wait, the car accident. This is a dream, isn't it?"

"No, it's real. Now I have been keeping up on all that has been happening since I died and sadly I was hoping that with Aaron's arrest my son would grow closer to you, but clearly that has happened."

"He isn't exactly who I want as the future of husband of my daughter." Keith said wearing a scowl a bit uncomfortable to realize that yet again he was having a conversation with a dead person. "Then again, that boy never had particularly good role models."

"I made a series of mistakes, starting with who I chose to be my son's father." Lynn said wiping a tear from her eye. She seemed to regain her equilibrium. "Now, let's go."

"I am going no where." Keith answered stubbornly.

"Mr. Mars, you have no choice." The dark haired woman retorted and reaching out to touch Keith said "I am going to skip the usual nonsense of telling you I am the ghost of Christmas past. I think we both know that we are going to be visiting the past."

With that there was a slight tingling to his skin as they faded out of the hospital room. Keith had expected to be shown some moment from Logan or Veronica's past and wasn't a bit surprised when that was what he was shown.

"She was such a beautiful little girl."

With that, they watched Veronica's early holiday seasons. Watching as a nine year old Veronica told her dad she wanted to be just like him when she grew up, Keith laughed at the memory of when she had used her fake handcuffs to arrest him.

There was another tingling then Keith and Lynn were watching the Echolls family holidays. The moment the press left, they saw the real way the family was. Aaron left after a sneering comment directed at a crying and drunk Lynn as a five year old Logan looked on confused.

The next holiday had Keith gasping on Logan's behalf as his father backhanded him and ordered him to his bedroom. Watching as Lynn poured herself a glass of vodka and didn't go to take care of her son, he turned on the woman and said "How could you? You are his parent, you should have protected him."

"That is a question I ask myself even now." Lynn sadly replied as she reached out for Keith's arm and they faded away. Arriving at a large unknown house, he watched as Cassidy and Dick Casablancas celebrated the holidays then went to visit their friends. The Mackenzie family holidays, the Kane holidays as well the Navarro family holiday. Oddly enough the ones that seemed the happiest were also the poorest family they had visited.

Duncan, Lilly, Veronica and Logan were all at a party during the next visit. It looked to be from just a few years before Lilly had passed away. Keith watched as everyone hugged and talked and bragged about their gifts and what they were doing with their family during this time off from school.

Curious as to why they were there, Keith saw it, the way that Logan looked at Veronica. "He liked her, even then."

"Yes, but my son, thanks to his father felt like a sweet innocent girl like Veronica was not his future. Lilly and her jaded sense of life made more sense. Logan felt like he was broken and in Lilly he recognized a kindred spirit. He did love her, but even then, it was a resigned sort of love." Lynn said.

Keith saw the sad expression on the late actress' face and said "He loves Veronica now. If he loved her then for her innocence why is he with her now?"

"Yes he does, love her, but he is fearful. He knows that she is broken but..."

"He thinks he broke her, doesn't he?" Keith said as he began to understand what part of the problem was between Veronica and Logan. Not that it changed his mind on their relationship. He didn't want Veronica stuck dealing with Logan's problems while trying to fix her own.

"I think so." Lynn said as she watched her son who in spite of standing next to Lilly was watching Veronica and Duncan flirting with pain on his face.

Keith watched Lilly watching Logan watching Veronica and with a frown heard a young woman verbally abusing a tall blond boy he recognized. Hearing the way she was talking to him he didn't get why the blond didn't just walk away; instead he kept trying to defend himself.

Seeing Veronica heading towards the bathroom, Keith followed curious as to why Lilly seemed to be following her as well. Lilly said as she walked up and then stopped. "Veronica, what's going on? Why did Duncan leave?"

"It's nothing." Veronica replied then asked what Logan had given her earlier that day.

"It's nothing, just a Trinket for my new car." Lilly replied then looking back at her boyfriend, realized that he was all she had. That she couldn't do what she should. Looking at Veronica, she said "You know, Duncan does like you. He is just too shy..."

Keith was aghast as he realized that Lilly knew that about Logan's feelings for Veronica and Veronica's for Logan. Lilly had manipulated things for her own reasons.

When he felt Lynn's hand on his arm, he tried to protest, wanting to find out more but before he could, they had faded out of the party and were now at Logan's house as he stared at a Christmas tree.

"It's the year Lilly died." Lynn informed him. "Logan has just told Veronica she has to choose between you and her friends."

Keith watched as Logan destroyed the tree and then his bedroom. The beating from Aaron that followed was particularly vicious and he couldn't understand how the alive version of Lynn could just sit there. The idea that this had gone on in his town, at a time he was still Sheriff had him furious.

"I have added drugs to my routine." Lynn said sadly.

With that, they went to see Veronica who was alone in her room, holding a royal blue and silver wrapped box with the name Logan written on the card. When the blond wiped away her tears, Keith felt sick as Veronica walked to the closet and placing the present in the back of it, closed the door and walked away.

Instead of going to the next holiday, they instead watched as Logan and his minions tore Veronica's trust to shreds. They saw the school year, then the time slowed down and they saw Shelly's end of the year party.

Watching as Madison unknowingly drugged Veronica, Keith wanted to scream no, knowing what would come next. He watched as Logan seemed to walk towards Veronica but something in his eyes changed and he left the party with an unknown blond.

Keith saw Duncan with Shelly, Madison arguing with Dick, he winced as the blonde's insults tore into the surfer yet again. Watching as Veronica got more and more out of hand; he felt a sense of fatalism as he realized he was going to be stuck at this party, unable to save his daughter from her upcoming nightmare.

Lynn and he followed the trio carrying Vee to the room, heard the words out of Dick's mouth and Keith no longer felt sorry for how Madison had treated him, instead he felt rage as he walked out of the room, still making jokes about Cassidy and Veronica.

"Man, are you sure that is a good idea?" She heard someone asking Dick.

"Yeah, it's not like Cassidy has the balls to actually touch her. Trust me; my brother isn't capable of that. 'Sides, this way I get Madison off my case about Ronnie being here." Dick replied with a shrug. "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to try and get some from her."

"Man, she isn't going to let you get close enough to kiss her, let alone have sex with you, not after you kissed Mars."

Keith tried to reach out, tried to get Dick's attention to tell him he was wrong about his brother but he walked right through him, making Keith shiver from the feeling of it. Watching as Dick walked towards Madison, he turned to Lynn and said "You have to stop this, we can't let this happen."

"We can't change the past, Keith." He heard as the sound of Madison slapping Dick echoed through the house. When the blond surfer staggered to the sofa and sank onto it, he heard Shelly ordering him to leave and threatening him if he threw up on her parents' expensive carpet. Keith ran up the stairs, just in time to see Cassidy leaving the bedroom where an unconscious Veronica was passed out.

When he saw Duncan entering the room, he found himself screaming no as he realized what had happened next. Rage unlike anything he had ever felt in his life consumed him as he began to understand what Lilly had been hinting about.

Keith felt the tingling sensation and wanted to protest leaving the party, wanting to help Veronica but before he could say anything they were standing next to a pool and could hear Veronica and Logan speaking to one another.

"So, what you came to accuse me?" Logan's question had Keith recalling what had happened that particular holiday. The missing money from the poker game and how Veronica had told him about tricking Logan into letting her play.

Keith's eyes went wide as she saw the way Logan was looking at Veronica; there was anger and guilt in his eyes as well as attraction.

Veronica either hides things better or she was over her feelings. Keith didn't know, he sometimes wondered if Veronica herself understood her feelings for Logan. As he listened to them bantering back and forth he whispered feeling a sense of doom as he realized "Its still there, they still care for one another."

"Yes, but the trust is gone. My son doesn't trust easily, Veronica choosing you, it's something that Logan doesn't understand because he hates his own father." Lynn said. "Deep down, even if he won't admit it, he hates me."

The parent in him wanted to protest that statement, but how can you not hate someone who sits around as you were beaten. As you did nothing to stop the repeated abuse. "The way he treated Veronica at school after Lilly's death, it destroyed her trust in him."

The words coming from the pool house were fading along with the house and a few minutes later it came back into view. This time there was a party in full swing up at the main house as down in the pool house, Sean Freidrich was leaving in a hurry.

Keith watched as varied scenes from Veronica's school year glided in and out of his view, but the one that caught his eye next had him feeling like a voyeur as Veronica pressed a kiss to the edge of Logan's lips on the second floor of the sleazy hotel balcony.

The way she began to walk away then Logan's hand reaching out and pulling her back and then kissing her. Keith felt a fatherly anger at the heat they were giving off but the part that really tugged at his heart was the confused expression on both of their faces when the kiss ended. He stood there with Lynn watching the vulnerable expression on Logan's face when Veronica drove away.

Watching them sneak around, he saw the day that Veronica stood Logan up as he waited on the family's boat for her. The way he repeatedly called her, then giving up began to drink. "He doesn't really have any other way of dealing with emotional pain, I never taught him any different."

Looking at Lynn, Keith tended to agree as they saw the twosome making up then sneaking around some more. The unbirthday party and the expression on the 09ers faces as Logan told them that they either accepted Veronica and him together or they were no longer his friends had him unwillingly cheering on the slightly less broken boy.

Watching from the outside as Duncan destroyed his car, Keith was shocked at the rage he saw on his face. He was pulled back towards the pool house and watched as Logan went to get the key to the liquor cabinet and Veronica found the tapes.

Veronica going to the police regarding Logan's false alibi and Logan's face as he was questioned. When Aaron attacked Veronica, Keith found it hard not to shout even though he knew no one but Lynn could hear her.

When they faded out as Jake Kane pulled up to the now ended melee, Keith was about to protest until he saw where they were and what was going on.

Logan on the same bridge his mother had jumped from, the fight with the bikers and how they drove off leaving him bleeding and to deal with the police after Felix was killed.

Keith winced as they watched Logan's ever escalating violent war between the 09ers and the PCHers. The way that Veronica tried to keep the peace and then the shooting that had ended them that summer.

When Keith saw Duncan at the Hut, he was about to take a deep breath as he knew that he was at least emotionally neutral for Veronica even if Keith didn't understand how she had gotten past what he had done to her. He instead saw Logan watching them talking. The pain in his eyes matched the clear lack of self worth evident in his movements. All of which had Keith shocked to once again feeling bad for the brash emotionally tortured boy.

Logan's visit to the Casablancas household after an unwanted but court ordered visit with his father. He could almost feel his worthlessness as he let Kendall seduce him. Inwardly shouting no, he watched the rest of the summer play out then the beginning of the school year.

Duncan and Veronica's public displays of affection that seemed to led to each and every single violent fight or encounter with Kendall. How Veronica seemed to cling to Duncan after each verbal altercation with Logan.

"They are destroying each other because they don't know how to open up to each other. If they would only fight this out, they would find that the hurt is on both sides and that the love, it's there and can over come the pain."

Shocked to hear an unknown voice, Keith turned and asked "Are you speaking to me?"

"Yes." Keith saw the dark haired girl with a familiar looking smile who was wearing a very odd version of the Neptune soccer uniform seemed to be almost in tears.

"Who are you?" Keith asked then "Wait, you can see me?"

"I see you and as to whom I am...well that isn't important." Replied the young girl that he now realized was about eighteen. "Look, this is what you were supposed to see, that they are soul mates, true love but they are destroying one another."

"I KNOW THAT." Keith said frustrated with this odd dream he seemed to be having. The words echoed through his head as he finally began to see what they wanted him to see. "I knew they loved each other that even before you invaded my nightmares. That doesn't mean they belong together."

"Tsk, tsk."

Turning, Keith saw Lilly standing there and let her have it with both barrels. "If you hadn't kept them apart for selfish reasons of your own, none of this would have happened."

"I get that." She cried out as she looked at Veronica's dad. "It's why I am trying to fix my mistakes. I just wanted to be happy and thought..."

"Then why weren't you happy? You weren't happy because of your own selfishness. Seriously, you had Logan in spite of knowing the truth, but you couldn't keep your hands off other men while dating him. You helped destroy his self esteem, even before you slept with his father."

"Look, if anyone has a reason to be mad at Lilly, it's me." Lynn replied. Seeing Keith's surprise, she said "She emotionally fucked with my son and then had sex with my husband. Yet here I am, working with her to fix things. Keith, you are our last hope. If you don't fix things, Fiona won't be born. So please, just let us show you what we have to."

"Who is Fiona?" He asked frustrated with the three of them.

"Me." The youngest of the trio replied. "If we don't fix this, my dad is going to sleep with Madison and my mom won't be able to forgive him for years. If that happens, I don't get a chance to exist."

With that, Keith found himself getting a glimpse of a moment that he knew would stay with him as Logan poured his heart out to Veronica.

Watching as he gave her a speech that would have most girls throwing themselves at him, Keith watched Veronica leaving. Then Logan getting smashed beyond all control then sleeping with the con artist Kendall Casablancas yet again.

When Logan opened the door to Veronica the next morning, Keith felt for both of them. Logan who didn't remember that very epic speech but clearly was still in love with the blond and Veronica who looked like she was heartbroken beyond repair at the sight of Kendall.

As the next few weeks played out and Veronica uncovered the truth about Cassidy, Keith hated watching, knowing what would happen next. When Logan showed up to rescue Veronica, Keith found that he had let go of his anger with the boy as he watched Cassidy just stepping off the roof of the Grand.

When the twosome had gone to rescue Mac; Keith sank onto the bed as his daughter put aside her own pain to help her scared friend.

Looking at Lynn, he said "Logan is already in Aspen according to all of you, how do I prevent this from happening. He won't listen to me, she is too stubborn to go to him."

"That needs to change. Veronica needs to learn to let others in and my son, he needs to learn to deal with problems by doing something other than drinking or fighting."

With that, Keith woke up at home in his own bed. Sitting up, he gasped as he had total recall of his odd dream. "Okay, no more vegan pizza before bed."

Just as he was about to lay back down, he felt a pressure on his feet. Rising up and leaning back onto his elbows, he saw Lilly sitting on them filing her nails. "Go away."

"Nope, you have all the ingredients you need to put a stop to this. I already gave them to you. Now, fix things, Fiona deserves to be born." With that Lilly popped out of the room and Keith sat up again and got out of bed.

Muttering to himself that if he were to tell anyone what was going on, they would lock him up in the state mental institution. Walking into the living room/kitchenette, Keith looked around, trying to decide if it was a dream or if he was losing his mind.

LoVe

Keith went back to sleep, frowning as he noticed he had a bandage on his head. Soon his dreams were full of the past, both good and bad memories. He never realized that he was in his hospital bed or that his doctor had come in to check on him at his daughter's frantic request.

"He keeps tossing and turning. He is moaning from pain." Veronica was telling the man in the scrubs that Mac had pulled into the room.

Checking the chart, the young resident went over each marking thoroughly then went to check the patients vital. Hearing the even breathing and constant normal pulse, he said "He is healthy, if I had to guess I would say he is having nightmares."

Veronica looked on with anguish as her dad seemed to settle down and return to a restful sleep. "Ms. Mars, I would suggest that you get some sleep, your father will wake up tomorrow morning. I promise."

With that, the resident left the room and sent in pillows and blankets for the two girls before making notes on his charts. Veronica relaxed as she saw her dad had settled down and looking at Mac who was cuddled up in the blankets.

Soon resting quietly, Veronica couldn't help thinking about Logan and how they just couldn't seem to get their act together. Wistfully, she looked back on the past and wiping away the now flowing tears as she decided that maybe they just weren't meant to be.

LoVe

Keith was drifting in his dreams and nightmares when he felt someone shaking him awake. Seeing the polite blond girl he used to see with his daughter, he looked at Meg Manning and said "Let me guess, you are the ghost of Christmas present."

"And the near future." She replied then added "If we waited until Christmas it would be too late. So the powers that be agreed we could move the haunting up a week or so."

With that, Meg touched Keith and they were soon inside the small apartment that the Mars family called home. Meg said softly "I have to help her. Veronica did nothing wrong but I blamed her for Duncan's shortcomings in spite of knowing that he only went out with me because he for some reason felt he couldn't date her."

Keith just gave up on getting sleep as they watched Veronica and himself decorating the tree, watching holiday cartoon specials together and singing along with them. Looking at the calendar, Keith realized that it was the upcoming holiday eve.

"There are a few things I need to show you before we get to Veronica. Things that Lilly put in play that you need to know about so that you can fix things."

Watching as Lilly haunted Dick, Keith saw the young man's nightmare and got that while others thought the blond was oblivious, he clearly was punishing himself for what had happened to Veronica and to his brother. When the blond was woken up and saw Lilly, he had to chuckle at the rather stilted and disoriented conversation that had ended with Dick getting up from the sofa where he had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor and went to the bathroom.

The blond began throwing up, muttering about getting sober after the New Year, then when Lilly began to speak again, complained that she was dead and that she should stay there. "After all you are the reason that Logan is so fucked up."

Lilly left in a huff and Meg looked at Veronica's dad and said "He isn't wrong, you know. Lilly knew that she was fucking over Logan, but didn't care, she only wanted to keep her own ghosts away."

"I saw." Keith said with a grimace. "Logan however..."

"Isn't the lost soul you think he is?" Meg said. "He has gotten a lot of help, he just hasn't told Veronica about it. He doesn't want her to think he is weak or to bug his doctor's office."

Chuckling, Keith said "She wouldn't be able to help herself. I am glad he is getting help, but they broke up again."

"Yes because Veronica doesn't know how to trust and Logan believes that he is responsible for everything from his dad's beating him to what happened to Veronica."

"He was and he wasn't. Cassidy made his own choice, even Dick isn't ultimately responsible for what his brother did." Keith admitted reluctantly.

"We have to go, Mr. Mars." Meg said as they floated away and into Mac's dorm room. Lilly woke up the computer geek and ended up getting emotionally singed when Mac said for the blond to go haunt Logan or Veronica if she wanted to help them. That she knew that somehow Lilly was doing this out of guilt.

When Lilly left, Meg and he faded out again and this time ended up standing outside of Cho's Pizza Parlor. Seeing Jack Cho calling out to Mac who was placing her own pizza in his car, they listened in to the conversation.

"I didn't know you were friends with them." Turning, Mac saw Jack Chow standing there holding a wallet.

"I am well not exactly friends with Logan but at least friendly." Mac weakly replied then found a wallet tossed onto the top of her pizza box. "What's that?"

"It's that idiot's wallet. I don't want it here; I don't want him trying to say I stole something or that his credit cards are missing." Jack replied as he turned to walk back to the parlor.

"Why give it to me?" Mac asked as her eyes widened, she would have sworn she had just seen Ghost Lilly ducking out the alley near Cho's.

"You seemed friendly enough with them and I seem to recall that you are friends with the Mars girl. I am sure that you have Casablancas phone number." With that, Jack walked into the door and out of Mac's sight.

Muttering unhealthy comments, she walked to her driver's side before taking her phone out and calling Logan's phone number. Getting his voice mail, she left a message then headed back to her dorm. Meg and Keith took a short cut and were already in the room when she arrived.

Mac hung up the phone, looked at the wallet on her dresser and debated tossing it in the nearest dumpster. Hearing a knock on her dorm room door, she lifted the wallet and tossed it into the top drawer and then opened the door. "Weevil?"

"I heard from a little birdie that you are having problems with a stuck door." The former biker said as he entered carrying a tool box.

"Maintenance said that it would take a week after they returned from the holidays." Mac replied.

"Vee was worried about Parker and yourself being vulnerable if the door got stuck." Weevil said as he pulled out the tools he needed for the job. "So, why are you here instead of going home for the holidays?"

"My family left for Big Sur yesterday morning. I am going to get caught up on school work." She replied.

"Mac, you have never been the sort to get behind, so what is the real story?" Eli replied as he noticed what had gone wrong with the door. "Ah, got it."

Taking out a screw driver, he tightened the loose screws and saw that one of them was stripped. Finding one in his box that fit, he replaced it then said "So, are you going to tell me the real reason you didn't join your family?"

Shrugging, Mac looked at the bald and tattooed man standing in her doorway and said "I just don't feel like I belong. I need to do some thinking, to get my head on straight."

"Clearly." Weevil looked at Mac then said "Mac, family is family. You only get one and trust me; they are always the ones who are there for you."

Keith was curious as to what was going on with Mac and also why he was seeing these scenes. What did Lilly intend that would drag Mac into the middle of this drama.

Mac thanked Weevil and then when he had left, walked to the phone and after a moment's hesitation, called Logan back. "Logan, I am going to take you up on your offer. Are you sure?"

"Go ahead, that way you aren't in the dorms by yourself." Logan replied repeating his earlier offer. Mac could hear the party in the background through the cell phone and hoped that things didn't get out of hand.

"Thanks, Logan. Look, I don't mean to stick my nose in the middle of your relationship with Veronica, but I am going to anyhow. I know how things normally go with the two of you. One of you hurts the other one, then that one does something stupid. Just promise me, that you will not do anything stupid."

"Define stupid." Was the retort.

During the conversation at the pizza parlor, Mac had been surprised to hear genuine concern in his voice over the idea of her staying in the dorms, and now she was shocked he was willing to even think of discussing this mess with her.

"Sleeping with another girl." She replied bluntly. "Logan, she loves you, you love her but trust is a problem, even I know that. So be the reason she learns to trust you."

"Thanks for unsolicited advice, Lucy; I will send you your five cents." He replied then a bit less sarcastically, he said "I hear you, I do, Mac. Just promise me, you won't stay in the dorms by yourself."

Keith had to agree with Logan. Mac shouldn't be staying at the dorms while there was a rapist on the loose, but why didn't she stay with Veronica and him. Seeing Lilly arriving, he was about to talk to the annoying blond when Meg said "This has already happened, we are only seeing this, Lilly can't see us right now."

Hanging up, Mac went to pack her bag when she heard a sound. Turning, she scowled at the blond who had returned. "I thought you had a party to go to."

"I do, but you keep ruining my day. Do you really think that running away will keep me from visiting you?" Lilly replied as she watched Mac pack up her suitcase for a stay at the Neptune Grand. "Have you called Veronica?"

"Why would I call Veronica? Should I be telling her about my hallucination of her dead best friend?" Mac asked.

"You can run but you can't hide, Cindy. Veronica needs you to fix this for her." With that, Lilly disappeared. Mac zipped closed her overnight bag, grabbed her messenger bag then opening the top drawer of her dresser, Dick Casablancas' wallet was sitting inside.

At the Grand, she didn't know that she had two extra passengers as she pulled out the key for the penthouse at the Grand. Tossing down her bag just inside the door she was about to place the wallet down on the console when she saw the amount of cash inside.

Taking a quick count, she shook her head in disbelief when she saw that the blond surfer had almost three thousand dollars in cash as well as several different credit cards. Keith was muttering about the blond deserving to be robbed when he saw the amount of money he was carrying around.

She was about to close it when she saw the photo. Unable to help herself, she pulled it out and gasped when she saw that it was a picture of Cassidy and herself, taken the previous year at the Carnival from the looks of things.

Quickly returning it, not wanting to think about what it meant or the boy in it, she placed it in Logan's bedroom night stand then went back to the main room.

Setting up her computer, she was about to finally get to eat her pizza when her phone rang. "Mac, what's up? I just got a call from Weevil, he said you didn't go with your family to Big Sur." Keith listened as his daughter spoke to Mac.

"Hey, Veronica." She said wishing she hadn't been so honest with Weevil. "I overslept and decided to just stay in town. I had already spend time with them on Christmas and my mom left me a message that she and my dad understood.."

"Come over and join us this weekend or even now if you want." Veronica ordered.

"No, that's fine. Enjoy your free time with your dad." Mac said. "I have made other plans, so don't worry about me. I am also not staying at the dorms."

"If you change your mind, just come over." Veronica said while Keith wondered why Mac didn't tell his daughter where she was staying.

"I will be fine, Veronica." Mac said then thought about it before adding. "Veronica, I know that Logan went a bit over board, but he loves you. Just something to think about."

Keith watched as daytime faded into night, then saw Mac standing all the sudden. As she followed the sound and found a phone in Logan's bedroom. Answering it, she said "Logan's phone."

"Whoa, I thought I was calling my own phone." Hearing the sound of a drunk Dick on speaker phone, Mac muttered that her night only needed this.

"The phone is in Logan's penthouse, so I just thought it was his." She replied.

"Who is this?"

"No one important." Mac replied not wanting to get into anything with an intoxicated Dick Casablancas.

"Well obviously you are someone, since you have my phone." He replied.

"If I have your phone, what are you calling me on?" Mac decided to use logic to confuse the drunk.

"Logan's phone. I took it because I wanted to prevent the tragic disaster of Logan drunk dialing that kryptonite girlfriend of his." Dick said sounding proud of himself and Keith wanted to both thank and smack him at the same time. "So, once again, who is this?"

"Its Mac." She finally answered knowing that she was going to have to deal with the blond if she wanted to get back to sleep.

"What are you doing in Logan's suite?" He asked now sounding bewildered and slightly suspicious.

"Logan knows I am here and that is all you need to know." She retorted annoyed with herself for sounding like a five year old.

"Oh god, now he is taking in Veronica's orphans. Man, he is really beyond help." Dick muttered something about science and an egg drop.

"Dick, just give Logan back his phone, like a good little boy." She coaxed. "Otherwise, who knows what I just might do with your phone."

"As if..." Was the childish reply.

"Dick, one question, where is your wallet." Mac smugly asked deciding to remind the surfer she was the one with brains in this argument. Keith and Meg both chuckled at the sounds they heard next.

Hearing some rustling of clothing, she was chuckling when she heard him muttering about not being able to find it. "Dick, you left it at the pizza place. Now, be a good boy, give Logan back his phone and when you return, you will get your wallet and phone back. Don't return it and you will come home to a huge bill and your credit cards maxed out."

Hearing his muttering something about her being a gold digging pain in the ass, she softly replied. "You of all people should know what one of those looks like that is all you date. Speaking of your dates. Why don't you try to keep your skanky ex girlfriend from dragging Logan off to bed?"

"Huh?"

Rolling her eyes at the less than intelligent reply, Mac said "Madison, she is going to try to screw Logan this weekend."

"She can try again all she wants. Logan has never hit that and he never would. Bros before hoes, man." Dick replied with what sounded like confidence. Keith was wondering why Mac would think this would happen but looking at Meg got that somehow, Mac was being shown a possible future.

"Maybe that would be true under normal circumstances, but remember, Logan is fucked up right now. What happened the last time they broke up, he slept with your stepmother." Mac winced as she said it but knew that she had to appeal to Dick's inherent selfishness and ego.

Dick muttered okay, okay then said "I am still keeping his phone; god knows what other damage Ronnie can inflict if he were to call her drunk."

"What about the damage that Logan has inflicted on her?" Mac replied then hung up and went back to bed, thinking she had done all she could to fix things for the twosome.

Meg looked at the wall clock and said "Okay, we have to go now."

Arriving at the Mars house, they watched as the other version of Keith had run out, they saw Wallace knocking on the door and being let in.

"Hey, Vee." Wallace said as he entered the apartment and hugged and pressed a kiss to the cheek of his best friend.

"Merry Christmas a day early papa bear." She replied as she returned the hug. "I have a present for you."

"You already gave me a gift." The basketballer replied. "Anything more and I might have to report it to the ethics committee that you are trying to bribe me to win games."

With a chuckle, Veronica brought out the microwave. "A client gave it to me and I heard Piz and you were planning to buy one this spring. So just tell anyone who asks I gave it to your roommate for a present."

"Oh god, no. Not that. You have no idea, do you?" Wallace said as he accepted the small black microwave. "Piz has a crush on you."

"On me?" Keith winced at the flattered tone he heard from Veronica. He had met Piz and while he wasn't sure he wanted Veronica with Logan, he found the boy from Oregon to be too vanilla, too Duncan Kane to be the right guy for his daughter.

"No way, Veronica. Please don't do this, don't rebound with yet another guy you don't care about." Meg was muttering while Keith was stating the same thing.

Before they could hear the next part, Keith felt a tingling on his skin and was not surprised to see that they were watching Logan and Dick exiting the private jet that belonged to Dick Sr. in Aspen.

Logan was unpacking when Keith saw the small box that he tossed down on the dresser with a bit too much force than was necessary. Reading the tag, he felt ambivalent when he saw that the ring box bore Veronica's name.

Even more so when he realized that the wrapping paper was a match to the present he was sure was still hiding in the back of Veronica's closet. "Oh shit, no, not yet, Logan."

"Time to party on, dude." With that the whirlwind that was Dick entered Logan's room and tried to swipe Logan's phone.

"I am not in the mood, Dick." Logan said with a scowl. "I am here, that is all I promised you."

"Fine, sit here, sulk while Ronnie is back home, not even thinking about the way she put you through the ringer. When are you going to realize that I am right and that she is rich dude kryptonite?" With that, Dick left the room, being careful to notice where Logan's phone charger was being placed. Hopefully he could get the phone later.

When Meg followed Dick, Keith protested and said "I thought we were here to stop Logan from doing something stupid."

"We are but Logan will stay in his room getting drunk, we have to see what Madison is up to." Meg replied as they watched the party grow until there was a large contingent of 09ers getting drunk in the condo. Keith wasn't sure who Madison was, but he was beginning to realize that she was somehow important to this mission.

Keith was watching five former Neptune students now identified by Meg as Cole, John Enblom and Casey Gant talking to Shelly and Madison and moved closer. Realizing that Madison was the high maintenance blond who had treated Casablancas like crap, he listened carefully because he had heard her rather nasty comments about his daughter. "So, I hear Mars dumped Logan again."

Madison was about to make a caustic comment when Cole lifted a picture from the bookcase. "I can't believe he still has this out."

"Who and what?" Shelly asked then frowned when she saw the picture of Beaver and some odd looking girl. "Oh, well he was his brother. Maybe Dick hasn't been here since Beaver smartly threw himself off the hotel."

"Nah, my guess is he doesn't care. It wasn't like other than Meg it was anyone we cared about who died." Madison stated. Then scowling when she saw the girl in the picture, she took it away and dropped it into the trash.

"Dick might notice it is gone, Madison." Casey remarked as they all heard the glass breaking as the frame landed face down.

"Why would he that was more than likely Beaver's picture. Did you see that geeky computer girl in it? Do you really think even the Casablancas family would let someone like her be in family pictures."

"Why not, I seem to recall your dad taking a few with me in them. At least Mac has some brains." Dick snarled as he lifted the trash can. "You can all leave if you can't respect my personal property."

Keith cheered on the blond who wasn't letting his friends walk over him for a change.

"C'mon Dick, it's only a picture of Beaver and his pathetic girlfriend. She couldn't get a guy her own age, so she dated an underclassman. How tragic." Shelly said. "And look how that turned out. Beaver turned out to be a murderer and a loser who killed himself."

"Shelly that murderer and loser was my brother." Dick calmly replied after taking another sip of his tequila bottle. "So if you have a problem with him, why don't you get the fuck out of my house since it was also his house. Take your boyfriend with you."

Cole went to protest but Dick moved until he was inches away then said "Get out. Now."

Cole and Shelly left, while Casey and John looked at Dick in disbelief. "What?"

"What has gotten into you man, Cole is your friend. Shelly is Madison's best friend." John said as he grabbed yet another beer.

"Thankfully, I stopped giving a shit a long time ago about what made Madison happy, then I stopped fucking her last year so I would really like to know why she is at my party." Meg winced at the blunt discussion of Dick and Madison having sex.

"We are all still your friends, Dick." Casey answered.

"More likely you guys are all here for the free booze. Madison is here because she heard about Logan and Ronnie and wants to see if she can slide in and take advantage of his weakness. It won't be happening, Madi, Logan doesn't roll that way."

With that, Dick looked at the three of them and said "So that we understand each other, if you have an issue with my still having pictures of my brother around, get the fuck out of my party, dude."

Meg was quietly clapping and even Keith was impressed until he saw Dick drain the bottle of tequila and go get another one. When he saw Madison angrily speaking to the boys and then leaving, Meg said "She is enraged now."

Keith knew that look, he often saw that look on people's faces as they self righteously explained why they had committed some criminal act of vengeance.

"We have to go see others, now." Meg replied just as the familiar pull and tingling happened.

Soon they were in a different part of Colorado as Parker Lee celebrated the holiday with her friends and family. When the blond started to talk about meeting _the_ Logan Echolls, Keith groaned as he heard the blond telling her friends that she was going to try and hook up with him now that he had broken up with his girlfriend.

"She will you know, if we don't fix this. This after all that Veronica has done to track down her rapist. Parker however has no loyalty except to herself. She feels that Veronica doesn't appreciate Logan, that she uses Mac. Parker hates that Veronica gets that much attention from her classmates." Meg said in a quiet aside to Mr. Mars as they went to observe the Sinclairs talking to each other as they set presents under the tree.

Keith frowned as he realized the man he had saved earlier that day was the father of the caustic blond in Aspen. "Why isn't Madison at home?"

"Listen and learn." Meg suggested as they heard the Sinclairs talking about how Madison had decided to spend the holidays with her friends instead of her parents.

Keith saw that they seemed to be slowing down on their trips and asked Meg if she wanted to go see her daughter and Duncan. "Maybe visit your family?"

"No, Lizzie saved our little sister; she is living with our aunt in Seattle. Lilly doesn't know me and little kids can sometimes see us. I don't want to mess her up." Meg said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Meg." He replied.

"It's fine. I have accepted that it was my time. Its why I agreed to help with this. Plus, if this works out, Duncan will have to let his dream of a future with Veronica go. Its better for it to happen now, then ten years from now. Which is what happens if we screw this up."

"So they would still get together but it would mean no grandchild named Fiona." Keith said as he began to realize that so much would be messed up if Veronica and Logan didn't get their act together.

"We have one more visit." Meg said as they were tugged away from Hearst College and returned to Aspen. Seeing Logan sitting up on his bed, a bottle of beer in his hands as Dick entered the room and on unsteady feet sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Fuckers."

"Are you talking about our nearest and dearest friends?" Logan mocked. Seeing Dick nod yes, he said "You were the one who wanted to come here."

"Didn't."

"Then why are we here?" Logan asked confused. "You fought with me to come skiing instead of being home."

Dick took the half full bottle in his hands and tossed it at the wall then said "Can't stand being at home, can't stand being here. Just figured it would be easier to not be there. I fucking hate the holidays."

"Yeah, I get that." Logan replied as he leaned back against the head board.

Keith saw the empty expressions in both of their faces.

"Why did they do it?" Dick asked suddenly out of the blue.

"Who?"

"My brother, your mother. Why kill yourself? Why don't they get it." He said as he desperately wanted another drink.

Dick laughed sarcastically and said "Did you know the statistics for family members of suicides to kill themselves. One of my fucking professors was talking about in class."

"We are too selfish, man. Don't worry about it." Logan replied.

"See, suicides are selfish. They don't think about those they leave behind." Dick answered. "I fucking hate this, I hate everything. I can't sleep without numbing my brain. I can't fucking sleep half the time. I just want it to go away."

Logan looked at his friend then said "It never does man. It never goes away. It only gets less painful."

"Do you ever wish your dad...?"

"I am glad he died." Logan harshly replied. "I hated him."

"I hate my dad too. He gave Beaver hell. He left us behind. He had a chance to take at least Beaver but he left us behind. Left me to deal with all of this on my own." Dick said as the tears began.

With one more trip, they were at the Grand a week before listening as Dick and Logan seemed to be pretending not to be bothered by the lack of presents under the fake hotel arranged tree as they discussing going to Aspen to get away.

Meg and Keith felt the pull tugging them away and landing them in Neptune. Meg thanked Keith then whispered "We are counting on you."

With that, Keith found himself at the police station. Not sure why he hadn't gone back to his office or to the hospital. "Why am I here?"

"I guess they felt me greeting you at the Grand would be upsetting." Keith stiffened and turned to look at Cassidy standing there looking the same as he had at Veronica's graduation.

Walking away, Keith decided to pretend that he didn't see what was in front of him. Ignoring the ghost wearing board shorts and tee shirt, he walked into Don Lamb's office and found where he hid the hard stuff. Pouring himself a glass, he looked at it then drank the vodka in one straight shot.

"It wasn't my choice." He heard. Cassidy kept speaking. "I am here to show you what happens next if you don't fix things."

Keith poured himself another drink then said "Go away before I get up from behind this desk and attempt to find out if Ghosts feel pain."

"Can't do that, I am sorry. I screwed up so badly." Cassidy said as he implored the Sheriff to listen to him. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear about it. If I can't get you to go away, stay silent as we go look at what we have to. I don't want to hear a word from your lying pathetic mouth. You RAPED Veronica, Cassidy. You KILLED innocents and then tried to kill Veronica after the nightmare you had already put her through. I can't forgive you, anymore than you can find it in you to forgive Woody."

Cassidy sighed and with a nod, agreed to his rules. Within seconds they were at yet another party in Aspen. Dick was smashed beyond consciousness and Logan was staggering about with Madison hanging off of him.

When the two of them went into a bedroom, Cassidy began to speak but Keith hissed "Not a word."

Traveling to the next day, Keith saw Logan's blood shot eyes as he staggered back to the main part of the room. There he saw the small box in his hand and watched as Logan ripped open the wrapping paper and ticked open the jewelry box. "Its too late."

When he tossed the platinum friendship ring in the fire, Keith watched the tears sliding down his face as he pulled a picture of Veronica out of his pocket. "Logan, it's going to be okay."

"No, it won't. Let me show you what happens next."

Cassidy saw the angry expression on his face and went silent as they traveled back to Hearst College. Once again, Keith was a spectator as he watched his worst fears play out.

Logan and Veronica getting back together, Veronica keeping secrets and Logan telling her he slept with someone but not who. Madison taking great pleasure in telling Veronica that she had sex with Logan during the holidays.

The two of them breaking up, Logan dating Parker, Veronica dating Piz. The sex tape and a drunk Dick sending it to his entire e-mail contact list. The Russian involved with some secret society that has connections to Jake Kane. As the fallout continued, Keith was saddened to realize that it would take ten years and another death for the two of them to get their act together.

"That isn't the end." Cassidy showed Dick in a drunk fit marrying some poor girl and then dumping her for what he considered deformed toes. Mac dating a loser; who instead of attending classes, sold his classmates the answers to their tests. "What a loser."

"So said the rapist and murderer." Keith replied coldly as he looked at the teenager standing next to him He wasn't thrilled with all he had seen, but he wasn't sure there was anything he could do about it. Wallace no longer talking to Veronica at the beginning of the next school year.

When Veronica left town after costing him the election, the blond girl losing her dream of being an FBI agent due to Jake Kane, never returning to Neptune. Keith saw the distance grow between the group of friends and was determined to fix this.

"You can fix this." Cassidy said softly. "It will help make up for what I did. I am sorry, really I am. I know saying that I was fucked up from what Woody did to me is no excuse but it is the only excuse I have."

With that, he began to fade. "Cassidy if I stop Logan from sleeping with Madison, does this change things."

Cassidy faded and Keith snapped out loud that he needed to know how to fix this and how.

"You have the answers; you just need to think about it." Lilly said as she showed up. "Send Veronica and Mac to Aspen. Mac has seen what she needs to fix things but Veronica needs you to talk to her before she goes, she needs you to make her face her fears."

With that, Lilly showed Keith what she had already done.

Mac was in the hotel guest bedroom and that there was now a packed bag on her bed. "I took care to pack everything you could possibly need in Aspen. Sort of purchased the rest."

"Lilly, you are a ghost." Mac replied as slowly as she could.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I lost my sense of fashion." Lilly quipped.

"You forgot one minor problem. I can't afford to just go to Aspen." Mac said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes you can. I lifted Dick's wallet for just this reason." Lilly said.

"I can't steal Dick's money." Mac said aghast at the idea of stealing or even worse owing Dick Casablancas anything.

"Its not exactly stealing, Mac. Its more like he unknowingly donated for a good cause." Lilly replied with a grin.

"Man, no wonder you ended up murdered." Mac muttered as she ignored the cheerful blond who was suggesting she steal money. Turning around, she missed seeing Lilly fading away to talk to Mr. Mars.

Keith found himself agreeing but then asked Lilly. "Wait, she can't see me?"

Lilly faded from Mac's eyesight and said "Of course not, otherwise she would really be convinced she is crazy. She can't see me either right now. Now, I have to go."

"If you have a better idea, why don't you go ahead and do it." Lilly taunted Mac as Keith tried to find a way to help.

Mac suddenly had a great idea and went into Logan's room and found Dick's cell phone. Dialing Logan's phone number, she was happy when Dick answered.

"'ello?"

"Dick, its Mac." Hearing the sound of dial tone, Mac frowned and hit redial. When answered again, she said "Why did you hang up on me?"

"I figured you either called me by mistake or were drunk dialing and I was trying to save you the embarrassment of declaring your horny feelings for my hot self." Listening to those smug words, Mac was ready to gag while Lilly and Keith laughed at the affronted expression on Mac's face.

"I thought you were the one who was drunk." Mac muttered. "I need to talk to Logan, where are you staying."

"You're in Aspen? Tell me you didn't bring the hell hound with you." She heard.

"No, I am not in Aspen and what is the hell hound?" She demanded.

"Your bestie." Dick replied as honestly as he could. "Seriously, the last thing Logan needs is for Ronnie to show up and rip out his heart again. Besides, isn't it Duncan's turn for the Veronica Mars special of chewing you up and spitting you out?"

"Dick...!" Mac wanted to say so much, but right now, she needed the dick's help. "Now a little birdie told me you pissed off Madison, where is she now?"

"How do you know I pissed her off if you aren't here?" Dick asked suspiciously. "Unless, does Veronica have Logan bugged?"

"No, Veronica doesn't have Logan bugged, at least not that I know of." Mac qualified her statement as she realized the blond might have done just that. "That isn't important. Look, you need to deal with Madison, she is pissed at you and now, she is going to try and sleep with Logan. You might not care but if that happens it would destroy any chance of Veronica and him getting back together."

"Maybe I should take one for the team and help her, if it ends things between Veronica and Logan for good." Dick chortled out loud at the idea of ending this nightmare for his best friend.

"I swear Dick; if you do I that I will bankrupt you then cut off your dick and feed it to you." Mac shouted into the phone. Keith winced on the blonde's behalf because he got the feeling she could do that.

"You are such an asshole. Don't you get it, seriously, don't you get that you are a selfish spoiled brat who hates Veronica because she pulls Logan attention away from your friendship."

"You don't know a single fucking thing about my friendship with Logan. That toxic girl you are friends with keeps mind fucking with Logan and has been doing so since we were in school. So don't you tell me that I don't know what I am talking about." He sneered.

"I know more about it than you do asshole." Mac snarled as she looked at the wallet on the dresser glaring at it as if it was actually its owner. "I know that too many people stuck their noses in and instead of letting the two of them argue things out, they interfered to get what they wanted. Including you, you jerk."

"Well I am here and thankfully you can't afford to get here." He replied smugly.

"Don't count on it." Mac muttered as she hung up the phone. Going to the wallet, she counted the funds then looking at the clock realized it was almost one in the morning.

Sure enough when she called the airport, there were flights available. Wondering whose vacation Lilly had ruined, she mentally apologized then made reservations for two. Mac gave them Dick's credit card number and then hanging up started her computer. Finding a hotel suite, she reserved the room with Dick's card yet again.

When Lilly finished cheering, Keith watched as she looked at him and said "Now go get our girl. She is going to need you, Mr. Mars is about to have an accident."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

At the hospital, Keith woke up feeling disoriented as he tried to separate his dream from reality. Looking at his daughter, he saw she was fast asleep on the uncomfortable chair next to his bed.

Seeing Mac wearing the same outfit she had been in his dreams, he went over everything he had seen and with a sigh realized that it was time to be honest as hell with his daughter.

Hitting the call button on his bed, he saw the nurse entering and whispered for her to call Sheriff Lamb for him. The nurse went to do what he asked as Veronica began to wake up.

Mac also woke up as she heard the movements in the room. "How is your dad?"

"I'm fine." Keith said in a raspy tone. "Mac, I need to talk privately to Veronica. I know about your plans for later today. I agree that it is needed and think that my talking to Veronica right now, might help."

Mac looked at Keith and got that she wasn't the only one who had been haunted by Lilly Kane. Looking at Veronica she pulled out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down the details.

Handing them to Veronica's dad, ignoring the peeved expression on her best friends's face, she hugged a stiff Veronica and whispered. "I will explain all later."

"Mr. Mars, the Sheriff said he will get around to visiting you when he has the time." The nurse said then checking his vitals, said "I will let your doctor know that you are awake."

When the woman had left, Veronica looked at her dad and asked "How are you?"

"Fine. I was just grazed by the other car. How is Mr. Sinclair?" Keith asked.

"Fine, he was let go last night. I heard he had a slight concussion and went home with his wife." She replied.

Thinking on all he had seen the night before, he said "Was Mac here before he left?"

Noticing his daughter's poker face, he said "I know that Mac and Madison were switched, just not the details. I know as a father, I would be eager to see my child if I got a chance."

Swallowing in surprise, Veronica said "Yes, she was here. Dad, what is going on?"

"Sit down, Veronica." He said then looking down asked "Veronica, we have never talked about how I felt about learning the truth about your mother. I think we need to do so."

"Right now?" She asked skeptically.

"Right now." He replied then said "Veronica, your mom and I... Well our marriage was fine, at least for many years. That was what I thought, now looking back, I can honestly say that the only good thing that came out of our marriage was you."

"I love you too, dad." She said fearing what she was about to hear..

"However, your mother spent years lying to me. She made me believe something that wasn't true. I believed she loved me. I am sure she did, with as much love as she was capable with." He said then taking a deep breath said "However she cheated me, by being emotionally unavailable most of our marriage. By never telling me__that her heart still belonged to Jake Mars. I don't blame Jake, I blame Lianne."

Seeing his daughter's bitter expression at the mention of Jake and her mother, he said "I got over my anger with her about her drinking, that is an addiction issue. However, I never have forgiven her for Jake. For the lies."

"I never will." Veronica tersely replied.

"I hope you are wrong." Keith said somberly. "Veronica, one thing, and I hate to be the person stating this, but you seem to be following in your mom's footsteps."

"What?!" She all but shrieked.

"Veronica, you mentioned breaking up with Logan. I have seen this happen before but never realized what I was watching in my happiness at what I thought was you being a normal teenager."

"I don't get what you are talking about." She replied.

"Dating Duncan. Duncan is me in this love triangle. Now that you have ended things with Logan, who is going to be me in this next time apart. Piz? I know that he has a crush on you and I can__understand wanting to sooth your pain by being with someone who doesn't have the ability to hurt you emotionally." He said as gently as possible.

"Is that so wrong. Wanting to be with someone like Duncan? Someone like Piz." She asked softly.

"Yes when your heart belongs to someone else. Someone who would die for you. Not that I think Logan and you are ready for the next step. You both have major issues that need dealt with. BOTH OF YOU, VERONICA." He said. Seeing she was shutting down, he said "Veronica, I know about the bodyguard. I am not saying it was the right move for Logan to take. I do know that you take too many chances. I get why you do, but Veronica part of a being a private investigator is following the rules so you can testify in court. They can pull your license for most of the ways you get your information._**"**_

Veronica looked down, getting that she had disappointed her dad yet again only to feel him reaching out for her hand. "No, Veronica, I am just trying to be the dad you need me to be. One who tells you the hard truths. I want you to live a long and happy life."

"How does that involve Logan?" She asked not getting why all the sudden her father seemed to be cheering her now ex-boyfriend on.

"Veronica,, if you don't learn to trust yourself, to trust Logan, I am scared at what your future will be." Keith said honestly. "We have spent the last few years avoiding talking about our feelings. We talk about cases, about superficial things, but we both avoid dealing with anything that causes us pain."

"Lets get you home." The doctor said entering the room with extra pep. "Ms. Mars I need to check your dad out. Would you please wait in the hallway for moment."

Veronica was glad to go to the hallway, needing to escape the heavy conversation she had been having with her dad. Leaning against the wall, she heard a cough and looking up saw Don Lamb standing there with his arms crossed and glaring at her. "What?"

"I am here, after all I have nothing better to do than to be at your father's beck and call." He said smugly. "Now, what did he want?"

"I don't know." She said wearily. "He just asked the nurse to call you when he woke up."

"Do you really expect me to believe that. You two are as thick as thieves." Lamb stated.

The hospital door opened and Don Lamb slipped in when the doctor left. "Is my dad okay?"

"Yes, I am going to have the nurse arrange for your dad's check out papers." She was told. Veronica went to the door and pushed it ajar to eavesdrop on what was going on in the room.

"Lamb, about time." She heard him stating. "Well better late than never. The woman who ran off after the accident, you need to check with the state police. I recognized her. She is in your wanted files. Kidnapping of an infant, fraud and I believe blackmail. Though, the Fords never said what she was blackmailing them with."

Veronica rolled her eyes as her father had to goad the sheriff into doing his job. When the door came open, she showed as innocent as possible expression to Don Lamb and went inside.

Once the sheriff had left, Veronica looked at her dad and began talking about his getting out of there and the upcoming holiday. "Veronica, changing the subject doesn't change what you need to think about."

"Logan and I are over." She said firmly.

"No, you aren't. Your emotions are too deep for it to ever be over." He said looking at Veronica. "Veronica, trust is difficult for everyone. You have had a rough couple of years but at some point, Logan and you will find a way past all of the lies and pain. All the disappointment. I just hope that it is before your both hurt innocents."

The nurse came in and helped Keith get ready to go home while Veronica went to take care of his paperwork. On the way home, Veronica thought about what her father had said and wanted to argue with him but she couldn't.

"Wait, what did Mac hand you." Veronica asked.

"I will tell you when we get home." Keith said as let his daughter drive him home. Taking out his phone, he called over to the PCH impound yard and was told that Mr. Sinclair had arranged for someone to drive his car home. Getting transferred to Officer Wilson, he was told that his camera was waiting at the station for when he could pick it up.

At home, he sat his daughter down then said "I know about the box in the back of your closet with Logan's name on it.. Veronica you kept that through everything, though the time when you hated Logan, when you loved him but couldn't forgive him. That is why I__am going to only tell you once. Go to him, talk to him and be honest."

"I can't dad, he is out of town." She said.

With that Keith said "Mac note, she needs you to meet her immediately at the airport. United Airlines kiosk."

LoVe

In Aspen, Logan and Dick both staggered out to the living room where the mess from the night before was spread out across the various surfaces. "Shit, call housekeeping."

"Can't. They will only be doing the morning service this week. No special requests." Dick said as he sank down onto the sofa after shoving off part of the mess. "Fuck, I am tired, dude."

"You get lucky after I went to bed?" Logan asked as he shoved debris from a winged back chair.

"No that psycho you let stay at your penthouse kept calling me last night." Dick scowled. "What the hell is her problem. I don't remember much, but she called me an asshole and said I was a selfish spoiled brat."

Chuckling in spite of himself, Logan looked at Dick and said "What? Its not like she is lying!"

"She called several times last night, though, man. When I tried to call back this morning, she didn't answer my phone."

"I think you had too much to drink." Logan said. "Why would she have your phone?"

"I left it at your penthouse." Dick explained.

"You left your wallet at Cho's. Man Dick, what the hell was wrong with you yesterday." Logan replied.

"Shit, I forgot she has my wallet." Dick said with a sense of doom that he didn't understand. "So, another party tonight?"

"Guess so, though I heard Casey and John were flying to Beaver Creek and that Cole was hitching along for a ride." Logan replied. "Who does that leave that we would want to spend time with?"

"No one. Fuck, what the shit is going on with everyone?" Dick moaned as he held his head. "At least we aren't stuck in Neptune dealing with the crap back there."

With that, Dick staggered towards the bathroom and after relieving himself took a shower. As he exited the bathroom, he saw Logan's cell phone on his dresser and something made him walk back into the bathroom and lift the lid to the toilet tank.

Dropping the cell phone inside, he went back out and suggested that they head over to the dining room for breakfast and to arrange for the bar to send over someone to restock the bar. "Maybe we can pick up some hot babes."

LoVe LoVe LoVe

Veronica hurried to the United counter and gave her name to the attendant. "I am supposed to meet someone here, a Cindy Mackenzie."

"Call me Cindy again and I will bribe the pilot to let me shove you out the door at three thousand feet up." Mac said then hugged Veronica. "Thank you, I will try to get you home before you know it. You dad called, he said you were on your way."

"Whats going on and why are we flying? Also how are we affording this because I have to admit, my credit card is maxed out." Veronica replied.

"Generous benefactor." Mac said with a cold grin. "Lets just say that someone was stupid enough to leave me their wallet and then piss me off."

"Okay, so where are we going?" Veronica asked.

"Boulder." Mac replied aware that Veronica didn't know that Logan was in Aspen. That he had made plans to spend the holidays with her then after their separation had not been talking to her.

"Is something wrong with Parker?" Veronica asked worried about the blond. She still felt sick with guilt at what had happened to the blond and her part in not fixing things.

"No, though, I am thinking on asking for a new roommate for the spring semester. I don't like how she blames you for something you had no fault for." Mac said firmly.

When she saw Veronica's face she stopped the blond and turning her to look at her, she said "No, you didn't do this, Veronica. You weren't her attacker and her habit of making comments, it is going to end. Plus she is too interested in Logan."

She saw that Veronica was a bit surprised to hear of that but then Mac only knew about them because of her dream or whatever the heck it had been. "I didn't know, not until I heard her talking to her friends. She is planning on chasing him now that you two are fighting."

"Oh." Veronica said feeling slightly depressed. "Do you think Logan likes Parker?"

"No, but I THINK IF YOU DON'T GET OVER YOUR anger and trust issues, you are going to end up losing him to some version of Parker. Just maybe not that very one. Veronica, I know that you have trust issues and that Logan caused most of them...but if you truly want a life with him, you need to find a way to move past them." Mac gently said then realizing that they were too public for this discussion, she said.

"Lets go, we have a flight to catch if we want to come home anytime soon."

"You still haven't told me what is up between my dad and you.." Veronica said then looking at Mac said "I am not dressed for Boulder."

"A little flower helped me pick out some clothes for you. They were also put on my benefactors card, I would guess. Winter coats for the two of us and all the accessories too." Mac wasn't too sure how Lilly had gotten the coats and other items, let alone how a ghost had paid for them or packed them.

"Tell me, is this little birdie Logan?" Veronica asked, curious as to why after so long of staying out of her relationship, Mac suddenly seemed to be being blunt with her.

"Chose or paid for the clothes, the ticket and our suite. No, he has no idea about any of this." Mac replied honestly. "Though, I should tell you I am staying in his suite. That is where I was last night when I found out about your dad. Only he wasn't there. Dick and he took off for the holidays. Logan ran into me at Cho's then remembered about our dorm door like you did. He invited me to stay, now I wonder why he would do that if not to stay close to you?"

"But he went with Dick. You know what that means. Drinking. Debauchery and mindless blondes who only see bank accounts." Veronica replied.

"I think that Dick had a mind, he just doesn't chose to actually use it." Mac replied with a snarky expression on her face.

Hearing their flight being announced, Veronica saw that Mac had only her purse and asked. "Where is your laptop?"

"Home, I only brought my purse and the luggage." She said. Seeing Veronica's frown, she said "We won't need it for this. I have all the information and the hotel has a business center if we need to access a computer."

"Okay. When are you going to tell me what is going on?" Veronica asked as they walked down the walkway towards the large jet. Once they were seated in first class, Veronica couldn't resist saying "So this is how the other half lives when they fly."

"Veronica, can I ask you something? Do you ever see Lilly?" Mac asked ignoring Veronica's statement.

"What do you mean by seeing Lilly? Are we talking Lilly, Meg and Duncan's daughter. Please tell me that we aren't..." Veronica__sounded annoyed at even the idea of it being the small child and her ex boyfriend.

"No, no, nothing like that." Mac hastily replied even as the jet doors closed and they began to taxi towards the runway. "No, I mean Lilly as in your late friend."

Veronica went still and then after they were in the air looked at Mac. "You have seen Lilly? Like that?"

"In living or rather dead color. Wearing her prep squad uniform." Mac replied then when the flight attendant approached them, said "We can talk about this later."

"Oh we will be talking." Veronica replied grimly. "Is that who is sending us on this trip?"

"Yes via an unknowing benefactor." Mac replied.

"How can they be unknowing?" She asked then when the flight attendant asked if they wanted something to drink, she ordered a coke and a small bottle of rum. Shocked when it arrived without having to show ID, she just drank the rum straight then looking at Mac said "You have seen her?"

Mac decided to lay it all on the line at the hotel for her best friend. "Lets just say she convinced me that what I am about to tell you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and that if we don't do what she wants, bad things will happen."

"When I saw her, she was always cryptic." Veronica said sadly. "I could never get a straight answer out of her."

"Well considering that I told her a few home truths about a few things, I think she felt that she couldn't rely on a past friendship to get away with not being honest." Mac said with a sweet but deadly smile.

Taking out Dick's black AMEX card, she handed to Veronica and said " Speaking of a few home truths, he lost his wallet and Jack Cho refused to be responsible for it. I warned Dick not to upset me. He pissed me off and is now going to pay."

Veronica laughed then every few seconds, she would glance over at her friend and wonder why Lilly had gone to Mac. What had she told Mac that she couldn't tell Veronica?

Hearing the flight attendant announcing that they were beginning their decent, she woke up Mac and gave her the news. "They also__said that it is twenty eight degrees, Mac. I hope that those coats you brought are warm."

At the baggage claim, Mac and Veronica each claimed their luggage. "Two suitcases a piece, Mac?"

Opening them up, Veronica saw the brightly colored ski coats and the second suitcase had several outfits for each of them. "Mac, why did you pack so much?"

"Blizzards." She replied as she shivered. Taking out her own coat, she slipped on the bright green jacket and watched as Veronica did the same with the red one. White and black accessories for her and blue and black for Veronica as they pulled their suitcase out into the frigid weather.

"Mac, why is there a driver holding up a sign with your name on it? Veronica asked.

Frowning and thinking that Dick wasn't as dumb as he looked, she said "I don't know, but I do know that no one is supposed to know we are here. I say we take a taxi."

"Ms. Mackenzie, Ms Mars. A Mr. Mars arranged for me to pick you up." The man said then showed them his credentials. "Ms Mackenzie, he said for you to call and verify."

Veronica took out her phone and called her dad who said he had arranged for the car. "Sweetie, someone came to see me yesterday. I didn't agree with her when she began talking but by the end of her very convincing argument, I had to agree with her plan. This is just my way of saying... Good luck."

Veronica wasn't sure what was going on, but let Mac know that her dad HAD arranged for the car. "He said that this gentleman is a retired police officer who has his own limo service and that he did him a favor a few months back."

"Ladies, this is going to take a couple of hours, why don't you get some rest." The large man said as he put their luggage in the trunk and helped them settle into the back seat.

"We slept on the jet. Instead is there a place to get some food around here, just without meat." Mac said as she realized she was hungry.

"A salad take out place near the mall but I should warn you, it will be insane today." He replied.

"Then how about a Wendy's drive-thru. One of their salads would do." Mac replied then sat back as he pulled out into traffic. Fifteen minutes later, Veronica and she had some food and after putting up the window separating the driver from them, Mac said to Veronica "Okay, ask what you want to."

"Why you? Why not come to see me?" She asked.

"From what Lilly said she felt that you wouldn't listen to what she had to say. That she was in the wrong for part of what I have to tell you and that you tend to shut down when the topic is Logan., Also, I wasn't her first choice but that that person was convinced she was the result of a drink fueled hallucination. Then when I rejected her games, she said she had another. My guess would be it was your dad. Anyhow, she told me that I was still needed to help fix things. The last two nights I have had very vivid dreams."

Mac looked at Veronica and debated editing who she had seen but decided she needed the truth.

"Wait, are you sure this wasn't a dream?" Veronica asked skeptically. "Did you fall asleep watching A Christmas Carol?"

"Yes, it wasn't a dream. She showed me one of her mistakes. The two of you locked in a bedroom around the holidays gossiping with one another."

"I remember that." Veronica said softly as she stared at Mac knowing she had never told her about that time, it was still a painful subject for her. "It was at this really awkward stage before Duncan and I ended up dating. It was thanks to Lilly that we got things straightened out. I wasn't sure that I wanted to date Duncan, there was someone else but..."

"You couldn't tell her who could you?" Mac stated. Seeing Veronica's eyes go wide, she said "I saw it, I know something that I will tell you later. Its important but I think I need to tell you the rest before I tell you what I know."

"Okay, what else did you see?" Veronica asked.

"Logan's family. I saw what Aaron did to him, Veronica. I saw the party, Veronica. God, talk about screaming and unable to change things." The blond reached out and hugged her friend, then admitted "I think your dad did too."

"I saw our junior year of high school." Mac said.

Veronica replied sick at the idea of what Mac and seen then at the idea of her father seeing any of it. "Do you think that my dad..."

"Yes, I do. They said I saw the abridged version. If I had known at the time, I would have gone, stopped your dad from seeing what he had to have seen."

When Veronica looked away, Mac said "I could see both of you, the confusion and the guilt. What happened next, the doubt and the lack of trust. I have to ask, did you really think that Logan killed Lilly at any point in this investigation?"

"No,"

"Then why in god's name did you go to the police and tell them that his alibi was false?" She asked quietly.

"Because he had lied and..."

"No, that isn't good enough, Veronica. You lie all the time. You just say that it is for a good cause, but you still lie. Logan thought that you believed he killed Lilly, then when he found out you didn't believe that, he thought you did it because of your need to always be right." Mac didn't know that from her dream, but from Lilly and from the way Logan reacted to things.

"But I was right." Veronica protested.

"Veronica, all that telling the police did was make Logan a target for Weevil and his gang. It added nothing to the case and ruined your relationship with Logan. So tell me why you did it. After all its not the first time you haven't told the police something."

"Because he lied to the police." She protested.

"Veronica, the general assumption from those who I talked to, you did it because you wanted to find an excuse to push Logan away. That you were never fully committed to him, that you saw Duncan now dating Meg and wanted him back." Mac replied not wanting to mentions Dick's name and the late night call she had made nor how when he had been drunk how honest the blond had been.

"I asked your dad when you were already on your way and you know what, not even he thinks you believed that Logan harmed Lilly. He think you told the police to get him out of the way while you investigated."

"My dad told you that?" Veronica said feeling hurt at the idea of her dad doubting her reasons.

"Yes, but he also said that he thinks you were torn in two by what you felt you owed Lilly and your feelings for Logan. Add that to your ending things with Logan and dating Duncan and I hate to say it but a few other peoples theories look pretty good."

"Really and what are they?" Veronica asked a bit snappily.

"That you kept Logan in a holding pattern until Duncan returned and then found an excuse to dump him and go back out with the good guy as opposed to the volatile one. I know that isn't the truth, but I also know that you were very determined to have what you considered normal."

"What is wrong with that?" Veronica asked defensively. "Duncan has always been a great guy."

"First part of that, Veronica, what you considered normal meant what you had before Lilly's death. Trouble is, you weren't that Veronica anymore. Also Veronica, you told me what you thought happened the night of Shelly's party. How much of dating Duncan was about finding a way to make that seem less sickening than it was."

"What do you mean?"

"To be blunt, yes, Duncan was drugged but you were raped twice that night. You were in no shape to say yes to him and he thought you were his sister, Veronica. Anyway you look at it, it was wrong." Mac replied.

Seeing Veronica begin to shut down, she said "I know that you don't want to face it, I get it, boy if anyone gets not wanting to face things, its me. But it is the truth, Veronica. You were trying to make things less scary for yourself and Duncan fit the bill in spite of his__shortcoming."

"Duncan is a great..."

"No, no he isn't." Mac replied. Seeing Veronica closing down, she reached out and shook her friend a bit. "Listen to me. YES, LOGAN was terrible to you, all of the 09ers were. But none of them believed__you were their sister, for that reason alone he should have put a stop to the torment you were going through. Duncan always has excuses of why he didn't. That his sister died, that he was drugged up, but sorry they were just that, excuses. Look at what he did after learning the truth."

"What do you mean?" Mac saw that Veronica genuinely didn't seem to get it.

"He dumped Meg to chase after you, learned she was pregnant and still stayed away from her. When she was in a coma and dating you, he lied about going to see her, then when he needed you to fix things, came to you about it. Then there is the mess with his daughter. Seriously, I looked this up, there was no court in the land that would have taken his child away from him, even if he was underage. All he had to do was request a DNA test and the Mannings would have had no rights to Lilly 2.0."

"They refused to do the DNA tests." Veronica said.

"I looked, Veronica, he never requested them. Also, he was eighteen and not even his medical history would have mattered more than biology. Seriously, he had options, he just took the one that let him run away and you do all of the work." She replied.

Seeing Veronica wasn't speaking, she got less strident and said "One more thing, I saw something when we were in the past. It was Duncan, not Jake Kane who arranged for that security guy to kill Aaron."

"Are you saying that is a bad thing?" Veronica asked.

"No, but I know you and I know that no matter who you lie to, you hate being lied to." Mac replied. She saw she was getting through to Veronica and added "Did you know he slept with Kendall Casablancas?"

"It was a set up." Veronica replied. "To get them out of town."

"Really all five times?" Mac asked dryly. Seeing Veronica frown, she said "Yeah, the skank didn't care who paid her bills. Logan said no, so she went to the richest boy in the suite."

Now seeing Veronica was unsettled, Mac continued and hoping Dick hadn't been lying to her said "After Logan and you broke up, he came to see you at the Hut. He saw you with Duncan. Saw some piece of paper that I would guess was from a fortune cookie."

"He was following me." She asked.

"My guess from the way he was there, it was to protect you, but yes. He saw the fortune Veronica, He was emotionally destroyed. I don't agree with Dick often but he was right, you fucked with Logan emotionally that summer. It was unintentional, but you did, Veronica." Mac said softly.

Veronica tried to deny that Mac was right but deep down she knew that she was. That in her need to feel normal again she had emotionally messed with Logan that summer. That school year as a matter of fact.

"Someone saw the two of you at the Alterna-prom, Veronica. I heard his speech about the two of you being epic. The way you froze him out and how he dealt with his broken heart. Its how he does things, he gets too drunk to think and sleeps with whoever will do the most emotional damage to himself."

"Kendall." Veronica said her mind on that morning when she had shown up to pour her heart out to Logan and what she had seen.

"I saw that night, saw how drunk he was while I was trying to escape Butters. How they actually had sex is a mystery." Veronica gave a sharp laugh and was about to answer when Mac continued. "I also know that on the darkest night of your life, Logan was there for you."

"He always is but we just can't seem to be there for the day to day stuff, Mac." Veronica said.

"That is because you have major trust issues and he starts to feel worthless when you box him out. He gets to drinking and partying and next thing you know, you have the excuse you are looking for to dump him."

Veronica started to deny this but once again realized that Mac was telling her the truth. It hurt but she had to agree with it. "Then maybe I should just give up."

"No, maybe you should try learning to trust him again. Maybe you should understand where he came from when he turned on you. I know a few things that I am hoping when you learn, you will understand why things happened the way they did." Mac replied.

"Just tell me." Veronica ordered.

"I would but there is much, much more I need to tell you." Mac said then with a heavy sigh said "I called Dick, tried to get him to help me with a project but he was too out of it to be of any help."

"Logan..."

"Needs you to open up and be honest. Tell him how you feel about things, About Lilly, about what happened in high school. About how you feel about his part in what happened the night you were raped. But Veronica, you also have to listen to him when he tells you how you made him feel when you dumped him, when you doubted him, when you stood him up. You aren't without fault and neither is he." Mac was almost saying word for word what Lilly had told her and realized she could also use that advice.

Veronica sank back against the leather seat and said "I am not sure I can do that. I have this... This rage that is still inside of me. If I tell him how I felt back then, it could destroy us."

"Isn't it better to have taken the chance, to be honest than what is going on now. I think he might surprise you, Veronica. He feels a whole hell of a lot of guilt about all of this stuff and he needs to know that you are angry. That you can get past this and rebuild your trust in him."

When Veronica was silent, Mac hesitated then said "Have you ever tried to tell Logan you loved him since that morning?"

"No. I can't. It was too hard."

"Then you know where to start. Say I love you Logan and I want a future with you, but we need to talk things out. We both know that neither of you trust doctors but maybe you two can find a way to be your own therapists." Mac suggested.

Veronica sat back, her mind reeling from all she was being told as her history with Logan passed in front of her eyes but now with Mac's interpretation, she found herself seeing events differently.

It hurt to realize that she had done exactly what Mac said, but Logan was also at fault for their messed up relationship. He just wasn't the only one.

As she found herself staring out the window at the mountains covered with snow, she realized that she wasn't sure she could make the changes that Mac said she would need to, but at the same time, she also faced that she was becoming someone she herself didn't like.

"How do I do this?" She asked out loud only Mac didn't hear her because she was now dreaming. "How do I find the way forward."

"How about you start by realizing that you are happiest and feel alive when with Logan. That you don't just glide through life, with no peaks and valleys."

Turning to look at Lilly, Veronica asked "Why are you here? Why did you go to Mac? To my dad?"

"You refuse to listen." Lilly said while also looking out the window. "I hate cold weather, it always reminds me of my mother."

"Answer me, Lilly!" Veronica ordered.

"Veronica, I love you, you are truly one of the few people I have truly loved." Lilly replied sadly. "And I did something... Something bad that you never even knew about. I knew that Logan liked you, it wasn't hard to see."

"What you haunted him, told him to hurt me? What Lilly?" Veronica asked.

"No, I mean back when I was alive." She responded.

"No, Logan only had eyes for you back then. He never saw me like that." Veronica said completely sure of that.

"I knew my brother was too weak to have the courage to ask you out without help, so I set it up. I did it not because I wanted Duncan and you dating, but to keep Logan. To get him back as my own, in spite of knowing-"

"Wrong, I told you he had a crush on you when you first met, but I never told you that it was more than that. Its just... With his family... He felt you were too good for him and I just... I saw him slipping away."

"That might have been true, but Logan really did love you Lilly. He fell off the deep end when you died." Veronica replied.

"Yes he did but it was out of guilt at my death." Lilly replied sadly. "Veronica, I made sure that Logan never got the courage to face his feelings for you back then. The Christmas your freshman year, we broke up. You had asked me what he got me for a present, and I said a CD of my favorite band but what I never told you was that we had talked. Logan and I. He had broken up with me, admitted that there was this other girl and he felt guilty about dating me when he was in love with her."

"Okay, see, he didn't like me, there was someone else, Lilly." Veronica said trying to hold off this feeling of an emotional hurricane and its destruction ahead.

"Veronica, stop talking. I know you don't want to hear this, I get it, I do, but I have to do this, have to tell you." Lilly cried out.

"No, no, just stop! I don't want to hear it." Veronica protested as she tried to escape this nightmare.

"No, no, stop saying that Lilly." Veronica demanded. "Just stop telling me these things. I can't... I just can't listen to this."

"It's time, Veronica. Its time to stop hiding away from this. Deep down I think you know the truth. I think you have been running from this since before my death. When you told me about Logan kissing Yolanda, you were more upset about it than I was. Do you want to admit why?"

"Because he was cheating on you." Veronica answered.

"No, you were upset because deep down, you knew the truth that Logan and I weren't supposed to be a couple but you wanted him with me because it kept the four of us together. You thought that Logan would slowly stop being there, stop being your friend if we weren't a couple. You were afraid of losing Logan because you were already having feelings for him."

"He did stop being my friend." Veronica bitterly snapped.

"Yes he did." Lilly said gently then confessed "But only because of an argument I had with him when we broke up. An argument that I don't think deep down Logan has ever even acknowledged happening. An argument where in he admitted to being in love with you."

"No, Lilly that isn't true." Veronica replied. "Logan blamed me for you two ending, for your death."

"Yes he did but not because of the reason you think." Lilly said then taking a deep breath admitted "I lied to him, Veronica."

"I know that, we all know that." Veronica retorted.

"Not about, well yes about what you know about but there was more. During my argument with Logan. When I was well on my way to self-destruction, the reason I was so numb, so sure of myself... Was because that was how I was right after I had made the worst mistake of my life."

"Sleeping with Aaron, I know about that." Veronica replied.

"No, though that was pretty bad too." Lilly said. "Veronica, my only excuse is that I was reeling. I had just learned you were my sister, that__I had pretty much forced Duncan and yourself together out of my own selfish wants. Duncan who at the time I thought was your brother, our brother... I knew I was losing Logan and I just wanted..."

"What?!" Veronica snarled. "Just tell me, so that we can get this nightmare over with."

"I didn't want to lose either of you. Logan or yourself and I knew that if Logan grew the courage to tell you the truth, I would lose you both eventually so I lied to him." Lilly was finding it hard to confess the truth, in spite of being dead. She hated to lose Veronica's love or good opinion of herself but she knew that she had to tell the truth.

The Powers that Be said she had to right her wrongs and this was one of her worst wrongs regarding the two people closest to her.

Breathing in, Lilly said as quickly as possible "I knew that Logan liked you and I didn't want to lose you. I lied to him about you. I told him that you and I had once discussed him. Discussed dating him, I told Logan..."

"What?" Veronica repeated her earlier question.

"That you felt Logan with his drinking and wildness were too difficult to deal with as a boyfriend. That you were glad to only be his friend__that you felt he would never be true to only one girl and that you were only his friend because of Duncan and myself."

Veronica let the words settle in and then looked at Lilly. "Logan knew better than that."

"Veronica, you have no idea how low Logan's true view of himself is." Lilly said tear tracks now on her face. "I did, I knew and I used that to keep the two of you apart. I was just so afraid I would lose both of you that I lied. The day before I died, I realized that it was the end, that no matter how much I tried to manipulate things, it was over with Logan. He wasn't coming back, not anymore."

"Lilly, you're lying. Don't you remember, we were together at that car wash, I know that..."

"You know what?" Lilly asked. When Veronica didn't answer, she said "I know that you can read me most of the time, its why I told you I had a secret, Veronica. You love to undercover secrets, its always been a part of who you are. I knew that you would be distracted and it gave me time to rebuild by defenses. At least that was my plan. Aaron destroyed that, but-"

"Why? Lilly, just tell me why?" Veronica implored her to explain everything.

"Why what?" Lilly asked. "Why did Logan turn on you? Simply put, he believed me at the time. Then came back from Mexico. He put this note in my car with a shot glass. I read it and realized I had to fix things, had to tell the truth to both of you, It was just too little too late."

When Veronica ignored her, Lilly said "I saw Logan after I died, Veronica. I watched over him like I did you. I saw his guilt at still loving you when I had died. How I suddenly became this true love, but it was never that and he knew it but it helped him deal with his grief and loneliness at my death. When you two talked that day. When he said it was either your father or your friends. He truly didn't get you choosing your dad because he hates his father. But he also had my words, my lies echoing through his ears, Veronica. What I said is why your life was hell for so long."

"No, Logan made his own choices." Veronica replied angrily.

"Choices that were made as the result of guilt and my lies." Lilly said softly. "I am done, fixing this or the attempt to fix this is my last hurrah, Veronica. I have to go away. No more coming back to visit. I just want to say, I love you and I am sorry for what I have done."

With that, Veronica awoke startled at the feel of an earthquake. "What is going on?"

"Nothing, we just turned onto the driveway of the hotel." Mac said in the dusk from the other side of the car. Turning to look at Veronica, she saw the silver tracks of wetness on her face and reached in to pull out a tissue. "Here."

"Thanks, I saw Lilly." Veronica said as softly as possible while taking the time to wipe the tears away. "Now, I am guessing that somehow Logan and Dick are here?"

"In the condos down by the water." Mac said as the car came to a stop and the back door opened. Seeing the valet, she let him help them out and went inside to register. Once there, she took the room keys and handed one over to Veronica.

"I am going to shower and change before going to talk to Logan." Veronica said. "Maybe wait until I get my head on straight."

Mac nodded that she understood then looking around said "I am going to go exploring."

Mac was heading towards the bar when she ducked behind a pillar as Shelly and Madison walked past. Shelly was telling Madison that__she had been called by her parents and that they wanted her home. "Come home with me."

"No, I think I will go and keep Logan and Dick company." Madison said with a smirk. "Who knows, maybe I can finally get what I deserve."

With that, Madison hugged her best friend and watched her catch a taxi to the airport. Mac kept walking towards the bar and once seated on a bar stool, waved over the tall red head working behind it.

"I need some help, if you don't mind." Mac asked handing over one of Dick's hundred dollar bills. Taking out Dick's driver's license, she asked. "Have you seen these guy? Maybe with a dark haired boy the same age?"

The woman smirked and said "The dark haired kid, a couple of times, the blond constantly. He tends to think he is god's gift to women. Tips pretty good though."

"That's him." Mac said ruefully thinking about how careless Dick was with money. "Do you know where I can find them."

"Sure, we restock the bars of the condos when it is requested. I did their condo yesterday. They are in the Empire Section, Condo number 4." She said taking the offered tip.

The bartender looked at Mac and said "You don't seem his usual type."

"Thank god." Mac replied with feeling. Seeing the woman smiling, she said "My best friend is in an off and on relationship with the dark haired kid. The only way I would have sex with Dick was if I was the last woman on earth and he the last man. Then we would only be having sex if all other options to propagate the species had failed."

"You know, that is no way to talk about my best friend." Mac turned when she heard Logan's voice and was surprised to see that he didn't look as bad as he had the day before.

"Would you have sex with Dick?" She asked then blushed when she saw his eyebrow raise to the edge of his hairline and the ironic smirk beginning to grow on his face. "Okay, stupid question."

"I would have sworn you were crashing at my penthouse in Neptune this week." Logan replied as he sat down next to her and ordered a soda. Seeing Mac's surprise, he said "I am not drinking. I had the__oddest dream where this blond girl in a soccer uniform keep shouting at me. And it wasn't Veronica."

"What was she shouting?" Mac asked.

"Something about how could I teach her to ride a bike if I don't stop screwing things up with her mom. Then she said she wanted to learn how to surf a wave, then burst into tears. It was strange, my mom was there shaking her head at me and saying all this weird shit. I just figure if I am starting to hallucinate that I need to stop drinking for a while.

"Did the girl have a name?" Mac asked.

His eye brow back at his hairline, Logan suddenly frowned as he said "Oddly enough, I just can't remember it. Why you called Dick last night and got him all riled up."

"Have you realized yet that he has your cell phone?" She asked.

"Yes about one today. However it is too late to save it. He put it in the tank of the toilet. He is going to be buying me a new one the minute we get home." Logan said darkly.

"Maybe not, I have his wallet and cards." Mac reminded him. "I am not so sure I am going to give him them back. However, I will make sure he pays for your new phone."

"That is theft, Ms. Mackenzie." Logan said with a chuckle then taking a deep breath said "Where is Veronica?"

"Veronica is here with me. To talk to you." Mac replied. Seeing Logan remaining calm, she said "But I guess you figured that part out."

"It wasn't hard, unless you suddenly lost your mind, I can't imagine you showing up here to just to drive Dick insane." He said before taking a sip of his soda.

"The blond girl, by the way, according to Lilly is Fiona by the way is Veronica and your daughter." Mac said then watched for a second as Logan choked on his soda. Hitting him on the back just a bit too hard to help, she fluttered her eyelids at him when he glared at her after recovering.

"Bullshit." He saw while inwardly laughing at her using one of Veronica's tricks of the trade to attempt to distract him from her very shocking news.

"No, that is your daughter if you keep things on the straight and narrow. Lets take a walk." Mac said and picking up her coat followed Logan to a interior walkway.

Finding a private alcove, Logan stopped Mac and all but pushed her into a seat. "Okay start talking."

"The day I ran into you at Cho's, I had had a visitor. The late Lilly Kane who told me I needed to fix things for the two of you. I decided that I was just hungry and that maybe I needed a mental health checkup."

"So you really have lost your mind, but you don't think it was a dream?" Logan asked.

"If it was, it was oddly real." Mac replied then filled him in on the next part. Seeing his grim expression, Mac filled him in on being shown the past and that when she had refused to interfere that Keith Mars was their next choice.

Logan looked at Mac and realized it wasn't only his past with Veronica she had seen, but clearly a whole lot more including what his father had done to him.

"Great dad I had, didn't I?" He said with a bitter twist of his lips as he saw her compassion expression.

"I was never a fan of his, so I guess it wasn't that much of a shock. I kind of always thought he had way too big of an ego." Mac__debated internally then reached out to grasp Logan's hand. "I promise, I will never tell anyone what I saw. Veronica knows part of it, but I don't think she really does know how bad it was."

"You're right, not even Veronica knows how bad it was, Mac." He said finally finding the courage to look into her eyes. "Please, don't tell her."

"I won't." She vowed then admitted. "You should at some point though. Maybe when you two are feeling more secure."

"I will think about it." He said after thinking for a moment about his past.

"Anyhow, I saw the rest of the year, including that kiss at the Camelot. Kind of hot, there, Logan." She said with a slight grin.

"Veronica keeps disappointing you, I get that.:" Mac said. Seeing his shock, she said "Veronica before Lilly's death lived in this sort of cocoon world and you are one of the ones who kept her there, who__protected her." 

"I never wanted her to see the darkness. She was like this light, this goodness that called to me. She still has this, deep down." Logan said softly.

"Problem is that you kept her from seeing the real world and when she finally saw it, it crashed down hard onto her reality. She tried to climb back into the cocoon repeatedly but there was always this disastrous ending to that. First time she tried was Shelly's party."

"Where she was attacked because of me." Logan said harshly as he gripped his fingers tightly together. Mac slowly pulled them apart and saw his eyes meeting hers. "What? You know I telling the truth."

"There is a lot of blame to go around for that. There is you for bringing the drugs, Dick for using them on Madison, Madison for unknowingly passing them off with a trip to the dentist to Veronica. Even Veronica for going to that party in a need to try and hold onto something long gone but ultimately, none of you are as responsible as Duncan and Cassidy."

"Duncan didn't know what he was doing, nor did he rape Veronica, Mac." Logan replied.

"I got stuck actually watching the event." Mac said her voice raspy as she tried to not see what she was thinking about. "He didn't about the drugs, but Logan... I am going to tell you something that I think no one ever shared with you. Are you aware of the real reason Duncan and Veronica broke up before Lilly died?"

"No, Veronica never told me." Logan answered slowly as he realized Duncan hadn't either.

"Duncan would never tell you because you might have realized what a shit he was." Mac said still furious with the ass. "You know that Duncan thought Veronica was talking to him at the party right. That he thought she was sober and calling to him when he slept with her, right?"

"Yes, I just told you that." Logan replied.

"What would you say if it had been Lilly on that bed, calling out to Duncan and he had had sex with her." She saw his disgusted face and heard his protest that Lilly was Duncan's sister.

"Trouble is that at the time, Duncan thought Veronica was HIS sister. Jake Kane had an affair with Lianne Mars at the time she got pregnant with Veronica. From just before he dumped her sophomore year until almost the end of our junior year, Logan, Duncan thought Veronica was his sister."

"No, that isn't true, that would be just... Just disgusting." Logan said not believing her.

"And completely true." Mac said softly. When she saw him start to accept what she saw saying, she said "And for a short time, until the DNA tests came back, Veronica believed she had lost her virginity to him, dated her own brother."

"Oh god, Veronica!" Logan began to understand all that Veronica had faced. "When did she learn it was a possibility?"

"I don't know the date but I know that it was Abel Koontz who told her the truth. Veronica told me all of this when she was trying to help me deal with what Cassidy did, that she quickly ran tests and got the proof that Keith Mars is her dad."

Logan sat back in the chair, his mind sorting out all she was saying then looked at Mac and said "You said that she tried to go back to her past, that was why she began dating him isn't it?"

"I think so. I think she wanted to make what had happened less sorted and dating him later on, that made what happened__acceptable. When she found out about Meg and the baby, part of her still didn't want to believe it."

"Veronica is stubborn." Logan replied as he began to understand the blond he loved. "Its also why she never told me any of this. She knew I would hate Duncan and didn't want to turn me on him."

"Or maybe she was too embarrassed." Mac softly replied. "When Veronica gets hurt, she runs back to what she feels normal should be. What her life was like before Lilly died and her mom ran. I think there is more to it, Lilly came to visit her in her dreams tonight. Whatever she said, it had a huge impact on Veronica. When we checked in, she was different. She said she was going to go looking for you."

Mac had stated that Veronica was different but so was the young woman in front of him. There was a sense of purpose and self to her that had been missing since graduation Logan thought.

"Anyhow, I called Dick to get his help and things went awry so I decided he could help pay our way out here." With a sigh, Mac said "You best friend is an ass. I will give you that he is a loyal ass when it comes to you, but an ass all the same."

"Yup, Dick is my ass." Logan said then hearing silence looked at Mac who was trying not to laugh and said "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Fine, but you were the one who said it." She reminded him then thinking on it, pulled out her hotel key and handed it to him. "Veronica is in suite 1042."

"Any chance you two got separate rooms?" He asked a bit causally as he flipped the key card over and over between his fingers.

"None. I mean, I have Dick's lost AMEX card but still, I didn't want to run up too many charges on them." She said with a guilty expression on her face.

Shaking his head, he made a call then said "Here."

Taking the offered key with a Hawaiian Luau girl on the chain, she said "What is this?"

"My key to the condo." He replied. "Would you please somehow, even if it requires kidnapping, keep Dick from drinking. I will talk to Veronica and we can speak at my parent's place. It will be more private and there will be no calls to management because of arguing."

"You will protect me from any possible wrath no matter what goes on with Veronica."

"Yes and yes." He said then when she began to walk away called out "Don't you need the condo address."

"Logan do you really think I never took any lessons from Veronica. I knew within five minutes of arriving what Dick's condo address was." She called out as she kept walking.


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three 

Logan walked down the hallway from the elevator and knocked softly on the door, not wanting to get off to a bad start by just entering the hotel suite.

"Mac, did you forget your key?" Veronica opened the door and saw Logan standing there looking better than any man had the right to. His face showed everything he was feeling and all Veronica wanted was to run from the love she saw on his face. Fighting her instincts, she added "Or better yet, Mac, did you run into Logan and tell him we were here?"

"She gave me her key and no, I ran into her at the bar." He replied then looking back towards the couple now getting off the elevator asked. "May I come in?"

Veronica tightened the belt on her bathrobe then stepped back to let Logan into her suite knowing that they needed to talk. "I need to finish getting dressed."

"Not on my account, I hope." He said then winked when he saw her blushing as she picked up a pile of folded clothes. Seeing the silky under things on top of a pale green thick sweater and heavy cords she was carrying, he mentally dressed her in just the lingerie then reminded himself that they needed to talk.

"Stay here and don't touch anything." She ordered as she went to quickly change. Hearing the phone in the suite ringing, she was putting her boots on as she opened the door back up and asked. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Don't know, you told me not to touch anything. I kind of figured that included the phone." He replied knowing damn well that wasn't what she meant.

Veronica grabbed her cell phone to check the caller ID and returned Mac's call, "Did you just try to call me?"

"No, I uh..." Hearing the uneasiness in Mac's voice, Veronica looked at Logan who was leaning against the dresser and watching her before deciding to put her out of her misery.

"Logan is here, I am surprised but not mad." Veronica said.

"Did Lilly tell you what she did to keep you two apart?" Hearing Mac's question, Veronica vowed to at some point get Mac to tell her the entirety of her dream.

"She told you?" Veronica asked her eyes taking in Logan leaning against the gas fireplace as her body reminded her how good they were together. "I am not sure how I feel about her."

Veronica replied. When Logan's fingers caressed the carved wood edge of the dresser, it made everything in her tingle as she said "I uh, have to go. Where are you?"

"I am with Dick." Veronica could hear the odd tone of Mac's voice and began to realize that she was dealing with Cassidy's brother one on one and more than likely wasn't in a good mood.

"Just let me know if you need help getting rid of the body." She replied as she imagined all the ways that Mac could cause Dick physical pain.

"She killed him?" The dark haired boy asked as his hands went into his pants pockets. "Wow, that was quick, but all I asked was for her to keep him from drinking, I guess death would work."

Laughing, Veronica hang up and as her laughter trailed off, she said "Not yet and you asked her to go deal with Dick? Why would you do that?"

"Hopefully by being face to face they will talk. You do realize how much they have in common? They are the only two people in the world who ever gave a damn about Beaver. They are the two people who were hurt the worst by what he did that actually loved him in some way." Logan stated, he usually avoided discussing Beaver with Veronica, knowing he was such a horrifying subject for her.

Seeing Veronica didn't agree with his statement, he said "Deep down, you know that I am right. They both loved the Beaver they knew. Both were betrayed by him and both were the two people who feel the most guilt at his death."

"He will say something to have her crying and I will have to kill him, you do know that, don't you?" She asked, staring intently at her purse as she recalled leaving her taser in Neptune.

"They might just surprise you and we can go over to my place and skip Dick's. I inherited the place from my mom, just haven't stayed there but it has been being rented out for me. Right now, it's empty."

"Then why send Mac... Not a good idea Logan." She said as she grabbed her purse to go and stop the upcoming disaster. "You might not know it but Dick showed up at Mac's dorm drunk, told her she was only Beaver's beard."

"I do know, he told me. Veronica, it was the main reason I think that they need to talk. To forgive each other for the words and hurt that Beaver caused, not them. Let it happen." He said softly. "Please, just come with me and if Mac or Dick needs first aid, we will take care of them tomorrow."

LoVe

After a silent twenty minute walk Veronica's eyes went wide when she saw the large A-frame log cabin. "Not what I was expecting."

"Mom bought it before she ever married Aaron." He replied while reaching into his wallet for the key card he had been given the day before. As they entering, he suggested hanging up their coats.

"It's freezing in here, Logan." She said her teeth chattering already from the walked over. "Do you know how to turn on the heat?"

"Do I?" He said with an over exaggerated leer. "Boy do I."

"Not helping your case here. I meant the central heat that warms the entire house." Veronica replied even as she considered putting her coat back on.

"Be right back." He said then went to find the thermostat. A few minutes later, he came back into the room wearing a frown and carrying a tray. "There was only tea in the kitchen so that will have to do while we wait for the house to heat up."

Taking the offered steaming cup of tea, Veronica sat down on the vaguely Aztec patterned sofa and looked around.

"My mom must have bought out Pendleton to furnish this place." He said as he lifted a red wool blanket from the ottoman nearby and wrapped it around Veronica's shoulders. "There, that should help."

"Thanks." She said then the room went silent other than the sound of them sipping their tea. Veronica's mind went back to what Mac had told her. That the easiest way to start this was to admit the truth and tell him what she needed. 

When Logan began to speak at the exact same time, she stopped and so did he.

"This shouldn't be this hard." Logan said as he realized that he still had no idea why she had come to see him, if she wanted the same future he did. For all he knew she was coming to tell him that it was over and that there was no chance for them.

"Maybe it should." She replied with a deep sigh. "Logan give me a moment, okay?"

"Sure." He said not wanting to lose this chance if she did want to fix things for them.

After a deep breath, Veronica looked at Logan and said "Simply put, I love you. I have loved you for so long and am still in love with you. I would rather be miserable with you, than happy with someone else. I want to try and fix things but that means we have to say some stuff that is going to hurt but we can't run away. Either of us. I know that I am usually the one doing the running, but I am going to try and not run."

"How do I stop you?" He asked quietly as he thought back on all of the past times she had ran and how that running often happened long before she actually left him..

"Go to my dad. He is on your side in this. He told me so this morning." She replied and seeing his shock said "I don't know what changed his mind but he backed Mac's plan for doing this."

"Wow, that is a shock. I would have thought he would want you with anyone but me." He said staggered at the idea of Keith Mars being on his side. He had long thought that Keith hated him.

"Logan, I can't promise to never run again, to never lie again but I am going to try and fight those instincts." She said trying to be as honest as possible. "I also get that you have a need to protect me."

"I have always had that need." He admitted as he watched her fiddle with her tea cup knowing that it was going to be difficult for her to believe his words.

"Yet you overcame it to make my life a living hell." She replied needing to know why. Looking at Logan again, she said "Why?"

"Mac described it as my keeping you in a cocoon then letting you fall hard when I took it away." He said softly, ashamed of his past knowing there was no excuse for his appalling behavior that year and a half. "I can't explain really why I did it. I know the reason I thought I was doing what I did, but in truth, I was so fucked up that I am beginning to doubt that that was the real reason."

"Tell me what you believe to be the real reason." She said knowing that she wasn't the only one who needed them to be honest with each other.

Standing, walking to the large wall of windows, he said "I felt guilt and anger when Lilly died. I had so long been afraid of losing all of you and in one fell swoop, I did. I lost Lilly and you, Duncan might as well have been gone. Lilly didn't have a choice in dying but to me, you picked someone else over me."

"Logan, I chose my dad. I know that you don't get that. I do, especially after learning about how Aaron treated you, but the way you turned on me. I worry that at some point, you might do it again." She said admitting her worst fear.

"I know and I don't know how to fix that." He said honestly. "I can swear all I want that it won't happen but it is hard to guarantee something like that considering I would have sworn I would never turn on you back then."

Leaning back on the glass window, Logan looked at Veronica. "After the party, when you changed so much, it was as if you looked right through me, like Aaron always did. I went to this dark place, wanting to punish you for other people's crimes."

"I was reeling, Logan. I had been drugged, raped by someone who was a mystery and it had to have been someone who I had at one point called my friend." She said. "When Sheriff Lamb dismissed my rape as nothing more than a false report, it was as if the last bit of sanity, of the last of my bedrocks had fallen apart. And I had no one to help me."

"I-I am so sorry." He replied, his voice sounding broken as he walked back to kneel in front of her. Reaching out for her hands, he said "I would give anything to take back everything that happened but there is no way to time travel and fix this."

"No, we can't go back, but maybe we can go forward. I am facing a lot of emotional upheaval about every thing that happened that year only now. Mac gave me a few home truths that I wanted to deny but if I want to heal, I have to face them."

She thought about her last secret and said. "I need to tell you something."

"About Duncan and what happened that night." He inquired. Seeing her shock, he said "Duncan told me his pitiful little story, but he managed to leave out a few of the more important details that were only recently filled in."

"Like?" Veronica wanted to know what he knew, wanting to hear it in his words so that she could figure out if he was disgusted with her for getting back involved with Duncan after what he had done.

"About Lianne and Jake, what he thought was true at the time." Logan said sounding furious. "I can't believe that Jake let you date his son, that your mother never said a word. As for what happened, I can't believe you forgave him, when I know that you don't forgive easily."

"Oddly enough..." Veronica took a deep breath then with tears building in her eyes said "I didn't forgive him, I tried to make it into something it wasn't. Tried to pretend that he hadn't believed I was his sister. That he hadn't raped me. But-but it is true, Duncan, raped me. I dated my rapist. I helped him get out of town."

Logan pulled Veronica forward until she was on his lap; settling back until his thighs rested on the back of his ankles, holding her as the storm came. Rocking back and forth, just coddling her as Veronica dealt with everything she had suppressed for the last few years.

"I'm sorry, I am sorry. It is my fault. I gave him the drugs." He was repeating until it was almost a chant. When he felt Veronica's arms come up around his neck as her face was buried in the nape of his neck, Logan realized that his own tears were now mixing with her.

Eventually the tears ended as they sat there, Logan holding tightly onto her. Veronica whose own arms had gone from around his neck to around his torso was holding him tightly too.

When her breathing had become calm, she said "Logan, no, I mean, yes you gave him the drugs, but what happened, what Duncan did was his fault. Just like what Cassidy did was his fault, not Dick's."

Sitting there, Veronica suddenly spoke. "What happened at Hearst, the rapes, they brought it all back. All my anger and my fear of losing control. I began pushing others away, not only you but Wallace, Mac and even my dad. I had begun reliving my own personal nightmare."

Letting go of Logan, she looked into his eyes then said "Parker's anger and frustration, it brought it all back. You seemed to be pushing me away but that could have been my own fears."

"No, I wasn't pushing you away, Veronica." He said quietly. "I just felt you didn't want a future with me, like you were back to that judgmental and vengeful girl you were back junior year. It was as I could do nothing right and I was always, always worried that I would lose you. To your job as much as to your fears."

"I am so sorry. I never meant to make you feel like that." She said with a sigh.

"It has been so hard to try and walk the fine line between loving you and having you walk away. Some strange girl would flirt with me and you believe that I am interested when I have the girl I want. The girl I have always wanted."

With a sigh, Veronica said "It's difficult, Logan. I know how girls are attracted to you; I know that you like to flirt even if it doesn't mean anything to you. I get that things with Lilly were troubled, yet I saw you cheat on her."

"I never cheated on Lilly, Veronica. We were broken up when Yolanda kissed me. You know that." He said gently. "Veronica, I have only ever been involved with other women when we weren't together. I swear I would never cheat on you."

Taking his hands, she said "It's difficult to trust you when it comes to my heart, Logan. At least it was. Lilly spoke to me, told me something I never knew."

Logan saw Veronica's face and somehow knew it was bad. "What didn't you know, Veronica?"

"I need to sit on the sofa. I think we need distance for this, Logan." She said sadly. Standing, she moved to the far corner of the sofa and then when he had sat down in the midpoint, she said "Lilly lied to you, Logan."

"That isn't exactly a shock, Veronica." He pointed out as he recalled the laundry list of lies that the first girl he ever dated had told him about so many things.

"She told me that she told you that we talked about you as a boyfriend. After you two had broken up. She knew that you had feelings for me. Was that true, Logan?" She asked.

"Yes, I did. I do." He said hoarsely as he saw her eyes were now full of tears. "What did Lilly lie about, Veronica?"

"She was worried she was going to lose you, lose all of us if you and I were honest about our feelings with one another. She said she told you that I was only your friend because of Lilly and Duncan."

"I never believed that, Veronica." He said but his eyes didn't meet hers. Veronica was beginning to realize that his outer layer of complete confidence was just that, a shell he wore to protect himself for pain. Logan had believed what Lilly told him, he just didn't want to admit it.

"Logan, look at me." When he did, Veronica said "My friendship was never contingent on Lilly and Duncan. My friendship with you didn't end because I wanted it to. I came to see you at Christmas time, I had a present for you but you hated me. You iced me out."

Logan knew he had to be honest if he wanted this to work and said "I felt guilty. I had ended things with Lilly and she had died. I felt angry with myself. Aaron always said that I destroyed everything important and here was Lilly dead. I was convinced that you would be destroyed too."

"Aaron wanted to destroy your feelings of self-worth because he himself had none." Veronica interjected. "Logan, you do know that there was nothing you could do to prevent what happened."

Scoffing, he looked at her and said "I introduced Lilly to my dad. I hurt you and I knew it but I couldn't stop."

"Yes you did, you also introduced me to your dad, but what he did wasn't your fault. Lilly chose to have an affair with her boyfriend or ex-boyfriends' father. A man twice her age with a fetish for taping himself having sex. Instead of going to the police with that tape, she was going to use it to blackmail him, Logan." Veronica said finally admitting that Lilly wasn't an innocent in what had happened.

"As for what happened with us, Logan, the lemmings all followed you, they had the chance to stand up to you, and they didn't. I do get it was high school and that peer pressure scared a lot of people. However, they made the choice. Your dad made a choice too, a bad one when he decided to be an egotistical asshole who abused his son and filmed himself having sex with an underage teenager."

"When I found out about my dad, I blamed myself, but before I could deal with it, I was in the middle of a murder investigation of my own." He said his mind going back to that terrible summer.

"Logan, we need to talk about Hannah." She said softly. Veronica felt bad for the blond but at the same time admitted she was jealous of the innocent young girl. "I know that you were under the gun, so to speak but she fell in love with you."

"And you know me well enough to know that I went too far even if I never crossed that final line and slept with her." He said. "I felt something for her, but it was more the innocent aura she had, it reminded me of another sweet blond I had ruined."

"You didn't ruin me, Logan. Lilly's death was responsible for my lost emotional innocence and what Cassidy and Duncan did cost me my physical innocence. You were responsible for neither event." She said then admitted "In truth, I was hiding. Lilly knew, but I think she needed me to be the lightness to her dark."

Holding his hand, she said "I wish you remembered what you said to me the night of the Alterna prom. Your words touched me, made me take a leap of faith."

"Then I ruined it, I got drunk and slept with Kendall. I don't even know why I did it." He tried to explain. "I don't remember even sleeping with her."

"When I saw her, behind you that morning in your hotel room. It was as if it was that morning at school when you turned on me." She explained. "I swore that I would never give you another chance."

"Yet you did." He said looking at Veronica.

"Yes and I have never regretted it, Logan. Yes, we have been arguing, but I get that I have been reacting to the closeness, to my fears of loving you. Of getting my heart broken."

"So instead you chose to break mine." He said his mind on their last argument. "Veronica, I can't live like that, with constant fear of you leaving me for some reason you make up in your head. I do enough stupid things."

"I know. I do." She said looking at Logan. "I want to change. After listening to Lilly, I know that some of my fears are gone."

"I don't get that. Shouldn't you be more worried?" He said his eyes clearly showing his own fears. "I just don't want you suddenly deciding that what happened when I was first in love with you means I will turn on you again."

Veronica let go his hand, seeing his disappointment, she mimicked his earlier move and sank onto her knees in front of him. Reaching out for him, again, she said "Logan, I always felt like I was a replacement Lilly. Like I was second best in your heart."

Seeing his shock, she saw the moment he seemed to get it and reached for her. Finding herself on his lap, she had barely gotten comfortable when he reached up with his hands and cupped her face.

"You have never been second best." He said punctuating each word with a kiss on her lips. "Nor are you a replacement for Lilly."

"I know that now." She admitted her eyes still staring into his. "I know the truth and that means more to me than I can ever tell you."

"What about Duncan. If he returned..." Logan didn't finish his statement because Veronica had leaned in and pressed her lips to his this time.

"If he returned, I would wish him well regarding raising Lilly but in truth, Duncan Kane was never the person I thought he was. It took a long time and Mac giving me her very honest assessment for me to face that he had harmed me."

Veronica yawned suddenly and saw Logan's smirk. "Hey, Lilly wouldn't let me get any sleep. I just don't want to go anywhere; I want to stay right here."

"Okay, scoot off me for a moment." Logan said as he eased her off his lap and went to get some pillows. Returning, he looked at what she was wearing and said "Do you want my shirt?"

Looking down at her cords and thick sweater, she blushed then said "If you aren't not going to be needing it."

Taking off the top layer of his shirts, he handed it to Veronica then said "If you want privacy to change, there is a bathroom off the kitchen."

Her eyes meeting his, she kicked off her boots then watched as he did the same with his but they wouldn't come off. Laughing when he cursed then leaned down to untie his hiking boots; she undid the button and unzipped the cords. All laughter went away when she looked up and saw the desire in his eyes.

When they both looked away, she took her socks off and then said "The floor is still cold."

Sitting down and slipping her socks back on she reached up and pulled the thick sweater that Mac had chosen off. Tossing it onto the nearby chair, she slipped Logan's shirt on, the warmth and smell of Logan still part of the shirt as she buttoned it up.

When she looked back up, she saw Logan wearing only his boxers and a thin long sleeve shirt. "Let's get under the covers."

When Logan had opened a nearby storage ottoman and pulled out a thick comforter, she tossed the pillows to one end of the long sofa. With that they curled up together, Veronica could feel that Logan was physically aroused and when he pressed a kiss to her forehead, she was expecting him to continue what he seemed to be starting.

Instead, he pulled her even closer as he guided her head to his chest leaving Veronica slightly disappointed at their not doing anything more than kissing.

"Logan?" She tried to lift her head.

"Sleep, Veronica. We can talk some more when you wake up." Logan said then when Veronica's head was on his heart, he tightened his arms around her, hoping that this time they would get it right. He would not let her go, never again. Not now that he knew the truth.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four

It was dawn when Veronica heard a thumping sound. Yawning, she was enjoying the warmth of Logan's body close to hers. Her hand slipped down to grasp his. Hearing Logan waking up, she looked up wanting to see his eyes.

When she saw them open and then go from dark brown to a warm milk chocolate as he looked at her. She whispered "Hello."

"Hi." He said with an almost shy smile. Rubbing his chin against her forehead his arms had come around her as he confessed "I want to wake up like this every single day for the rest of my life."

"Will you settle for the rest of our vacation then occasionally for now because otherwise there is a man in Neptune who carries a gun who might just disapprove? Oh man, I forgot to call my dad last night." She said as she tried to sit up but found that Logan refused to let her go. "Logan, stop, he is going to be so worried."

Hearing the thumping sound again, she looked around realized the sound she was hearing wasn't as close as she had thought it was. Looking up at Logan she said "I thought what I was hearing was your heart."

"No, someone is knocking on the door." He said then suggested that they ignore it as he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. When they heard the sound again, he looked at Veronica then said with a hint of uncertainty "Do you think Mac killed Dick and now needs to escape from Aspen?"

Hearing a distant female voice, worried that he was right, she got up and then grabbing the blanket they had used to cover them, she wrapped it around her and hurried to the door.

Yanking it open, she said "Mac, please tell me that you didn't really kill Dick. A body that large is hard to make disappear and I don't have any mob type contacts."

There was silence, then Veronica looked at who was standing there and saw Madison dressed in heavy winter gear on the threshold looking like she had swallowed a rotten lemon. "Madison? What are you doing here and if you are here, who is babysitting your flying monkeys?"

"Let me in." The blond demanded as she tried to push her way in ignoring the rest of Veronica's nonsensical comment. Flying monkeys, what on earth was she talking about?

Logan who got the Wizard of Oz reference just waited knowing that Madison wouldn't leave until she had bothered them with what was going on in her mind.

"No, I swear I didn't drop a house on your twin and steal her red rhinestone shoes, nor am I looking to meet the Wizard, though, I have heard you are intimately acquainted with him." Veronica said with a wink then hearing Logan's footsteps, turned to see him wearing his jeans now along with his tee shirt.

"What do you want, Madison?" The dark haired boy asked.

"I need to talk to you about Dick, Logan." She said glaring at Veronica. She should have known if one of them was here the other one would be. "I need to talk to Logan. Privately."

"Madison, save me the trouble and just tell us what you want." Logan replied not wanting to bother with the annoying blond, he had much better things to be doing right now.

"Tell her to go away." Madison said glaring at Veronica who was standing there wearing only her socks, Logan's dress shirt and the blanket. "I won't talk as long as she is here."

"Good, then we can go back to bed." Logan said reaching for Madison's arm to escort her out of the cabin.

"No, we need to save Dick." Madison said in a dramatic tone.

"Oh god, do you think Mac really did do him in?" Logan asked mocking Madison as he looked at Veronica. He knew that no matter what, Dick wouldn't harm Mac and he really doubted that a woman who wouldn't eat anything that had ever had eyes would harm anyone, even Dick.

"Where is my purse?" Veronica asked and finding it called Mac's phone number all the while still holding the blanket and realizing with amusement that she wasn't bothered by the furious look on Madison's face at her lack of clothes. Getting voice mail, she looked through her contacts and then asked Logan for Dick's cell phone number.

"I don't know it. I just find his name in my contacts and call him that way." He said then looking at Madison asked her for the number. She reluctantly pulled her own phone out and dictated the number to Veronica who dialed it. Getting voice mail, she left a message for Mac to Madison's annoyance.

"Did you know that she kidnapped him?" Madison accused the blond. Turning to Logan, she said "How can you let them hurt Dick?"

"Madison, don't forget I know your secrets. This coming from the person who cheated on him with Don Lamb." Veronica said fluttering her eyes at Madison. Logan laughed, his mind on Mac doing the same thing to him the day before.

Madison thought that he was laughing at her so she scowled at him. Just as she began to make a sarcastic remark, Veronica's phone rang. Looking at the ID, she showed Logan that it was her dad and went to the kitchen for some privacy carrying her clothes as she began to feel the cool air on her legs.

"How is it going honey?" Keith asked as he sat in front of the tree by himself placing presents underneath to get ready for the holiday.

"Logan and I spent most of the night talking. It's been good, dad." Veronica admitted. "Mac might need your help, apparently Dick Casablancas is missing and Madison Sinclair thinks Mac kidnapped him."

"The Casablancas boy has a good hundred pounds on Mac if less brains. I don't think there is too much to worry about with that." Keith said with a chortle at the mental image of Mac doing in the tall blond boy before asking "Did she give you the present she took from your closet; the one with Logan's name on it."

"I haven't spoken to her since we arrived." Veronica felt a sense of guilt as she realized that she hadn't stayed in contact with her friend. "I better call her. I love you."

"Love you too, sweetie. I have to track down a bail jumper so I might not be home when you arrive." With that Keith hung up. Veronica once again tried to reach Mac but once again ended up leaving a message on her voice mail. Getting dressed, she checked her text messages. When she saw one from Mac she couldn't help laughing at the message.

"Madison, why do you think Mac kidnapped Dick." Veronica heard Logan asking.

"I went to the condo and no one answered. The door was unlocked and when I went inside Dick wasn't there. You weren't there but I knew that you had your own place. So I called Casey and he gave me the address."

Logan was reminding himself to make sure that Casey kept his mouth shut from now on as Madison said that when she went back to the hotel she heard Mac's voice. "I heard her arranging for a private jet for her and a passenger and then she gave them Dick's name. I knew there was no way he would be around that geek who dated his loser brother if he could avoid it."

Going back to the main area, Veronica said "Mac and Dick are flying home at some point this evening. She didn't kidnap anyone. She did say that they left a surprise for us at the house. Two presents. One that she brought from Neptune that I had gotten you and one from you for me."

"Are you sure she didn't steal them?" Madison asked with a condescending tone that got Veronica's attention knowing that Madison wouldn't give a damn unless she was trying to cover her own ass.

"Madison if either of those gifts are missing. I will destroy you. I am not talking about how I have played with you before, no more cat and mouse games. Do you understand me?" Veronica asked coldly when she saw the smug expression on her face.

"Oh, she would be rather foolish to have done so, considering that the present I got for you has a tracking devise in it." Logan added and saw Madison's face turn a nice puce color. "Yes, you tried to take them. Grow the fuck up, Madison and get them back to us."

"They are in the trunk of my car." She muttered as she went outside and retrieved the two packages. Madison left as quickly as she had shown up.

When Logan slammed the door, Veronica walked over and hugged him tightly. "Don't let what she did ruin today for us."

Logan looked at the two boxes, his with the blue wrapping paper with the silver ribbon and hers with the silver wrapping paper and blue ribbon and couldn't help chuckling. Handing the smaller box to Veronica, he asked her to open it now in spite of it not being Christmas yet.

Veronica unwrapped and then opened the box and found the beautiful ring whose design looked vaguely familiar. Once she realized it wasn't an engagement ring, she said "It's beautiful."

He looked at her with a soft expression on his face. "It was my mother's. She gave it to me before she died. She told me that her dad gave it to her mom when they were in college. That she hoped someday to meet the person I would consider special enough to give it to."

"Logan, I love it, thank you for this." Veronica handed him the other box as she found herself looking down at her hand, the weight of the ring on her hand oddly comforting.

"This is the gift I was telling you about." She said leading him over to the sofa. When he saw seated, she said "I got this for you the year Lilly died."

Logan saw how excited Veronica was so he untied the bow and then slid his fingers along the edge of the paper to keep from ripping it.

Finding the book inside, he opened it and saw the signature on the inside. "Veronica, where did you find this?"

"We were in San Diego; I went into this old dusty used bookstore and was just wandering around the shelves." She said with a smile as she saw his hands caressing the leather found first edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls. "You used to quote from it, all the time."

"Thank you." He said leaning over to press a kiss on her lips.

"I got you this really cool wet suit for surfing when I thought you were going to Mexico." She confessed. "But when we broke up, I stuck it under my bed."

With a laugh, he said "I want my suit, if it is the one we saw that day at the mall."

"Nope, I am keeping it. I might take up surfing." She teased. After a moment, she suggested that they head over to the condo so that they could make sure things were okay. "Mac said they left a note telling us what is going on."

LoVe

Arriving at the condo, Logan went to pack up his clothes, not that he had unpacked much more than his shaving kit. Looking around the professionally decorated Casablancas condo for the note from Mac, he saw the way Veronica was staring intensely at a photo and swore under his breath as he realized it was the broken picture of Beaver.

"Veronica?"

When she felt Logan's arms come around her waist, she looked from the picture of Mac and Beaver and said "Who brought this here?"

Unable to look at her, he admitted "Dick. He has been a bit manic about his brother. One minute hating me for not stopping Beaver then hating his brother for as he called it being selfish in committing suicide."

Unable to answer, Veronica looked at the picture and said "He looks so innocent in this photo but he had already killed eight students and raped me. Its odd but until he arrived on the rooftop that night, there was this sense that I was wrong, that there was no way that it was Cassidy who had planted the bomb."

"Yet it was." Logan said as he escorted her back to the sofa. Looking around, he saw that the condo had been cleaned up and in spite of everything going on, wondered how Dick had gotten someone to come clean it up.

Neither noticed the taller blond walking in with the short brunette who had stopped and tried to get him to leave again.

Veronica gave a sigh. "It was like some sort of twilight zone moment. I had seen his name on the picture of Woody's team, known what had happened to the other young boys, but Logan, until Beaver looked at me and just began talking about how he had to prevent me from telling anyone he was a killer, I just didn't believe it."

Dick refused to let Mac drag him away and covered her mouth to keep her from speaking. He had to hear what Veronica was saying, had to know what had driven his brother to jump.

Logan knew she needed to talk, to say what had been kept bottled inside. "He admitted that he had killed all of them to cover his shame at being a victim of Woody. Then told me how he had gone about making it look like someone else had done so. He told me about the bomb on the airplane. That if I wanted to have one last conversation with my dad, to call him. I just... I looked at him, it was Cassidy, Beaver. Then he got a hold of my taser and asked me if I had ever thought about how it felt to be tasered."

Mac felt sick, to hear Veronica's words, made it all worse. She saw the sick expression on Dick's face as he heard about his brother's last minutes and knew that it was more than he could deal with.

Veronica kept talking, needing to say all of this, needing to get it out as she continued. "When I asked him about Mac, his words about how she would never know. That everyone would blame my death on Aaron; I was so scared he was right."

She suddenly went still then said "When I brought up the Gonorrhea, that Woody had had it, that all of his victims had had it, the look on his face. The smug almost self-satisfied expression look as he bragged about no longer being a virgin, about what he had done to me. He laughed and said that Dick had no idea about any of it, none. This after I had heard about Dick and what had happened at Shelly's party, I wanted to cause him pain, to make him hurt as badly as I did. I no longer felt any pity for what Woody had done to him, Beaver knew the pain and shame you feel as a rape victim and still, still he raped me."

"What!?" All three of them heard Dick's shocked words and felt the disbelief in his voice.

Veronica and Logan turned and saw Dick standing there, his hands tightly clenched in fists. Seeing Mac's pain filled face, Veronica went to help her friend but Logan held her back, worried about how Dick would react to having Veronica near him.

"What did you say?" Dick asked as the world seemed to fade away until all he saw was Veronica and the terrified look on her face. "You are lying, you have to be lying. There is no way, none that Beaver would... No, no, it isn't true."

Veronica just moved forward, standing there glaring at Dick as she said "Yes and you facilitated the rape. I was drugged by you and then you left your sick and twisted brother alone in a room with me after egging him on to rape me. So don't you dare call me a liar! Don't you dare pretend that it didn't happen."

Dick saw the rage in Veronica's eyes and said "You are just using what happened that night to make my brother out to be a sociopath. Yes, he killed people, but there is no way he would ever rape anyone. He just didn't have it in it to do something like that."

"Dick-" Logan moved forward as he realized that somehow Dick had never been told everything that Beaver had done. "Stop, man!"

"No, how could you let her say this shit. It is bad enough that..."

Mac who had frozen when Dick had began speaking, looked at the blond and saw that he truly didn't know the truth. "Dick..."

"No, there is no way..." Logan saw that Dick was starting to let what he heard sink in, as his tone had changed from challenging what he had heard to pleading as he looked from Logan towards Mac. "No, no, you wouldn't love someone who did that. You wouldn't, you're better than that, than us."

Veronica wanted to scream at Dick, to shout and scream accusations but she saw the confusion on his face as he seemed to want to deny everything. Getting that somehow Dick hadn't been told what Beaver had done to her nor his part in it.

"Dick, it's clear you weren't told but it is true. Beaver raped me at Shelly's party after Madison had passed the drink with the ecstasy in it onto me. So..."

"I made my brother into a rapist." The devastated words seemed to silence all of them. Dick looked at Logan who looked at him with a steady expression of pain on his face and said "You knew?"

"Yes, I thought you were told." He replied trying to find the right words to get both Veronica and Dick through this. "Your mother knew. When she took you away for the summer, I just thought you knew the truth."

Looking at Mac, Dick asked. "You knew too?"

Nodding, unable to speak, she saw something get crushed in his eyes before his voice went flat as he said "Yet you helped me today. After what I said to you, this fall? Why?"

"For Logan and Veronica." She said softly unable to look him in the eyes afraid he would see her guilt in hers. "When you called me his beard, I thought you knew all of what he had done including what had happened with Veronica."

"I don't know what to say. Sorry doesn't seem enough." Dick said in a broken tone then looking at Veronica and then his eyes slid away as he felt sick to his stomach as the events of Shelly's party replayed in his mind. "I uh, we came back for our luggage but uh, Mac, I am not going back to Neptune. The jet will still take you back. Veronica... I... If sorry doesn't seem enough to say to Mac... There are no words, none."

With that, Logan found himself pinned from the pain in Dick's eyes as he moved past him and went to grab his weekender bag near the door of his room. When Dick bent to pick it up, he looked at all three of them then said "Bye."

The click of the door galvanized Mac who had been torn between helping Dick and her best friend as she moved towards Veronica who had sank onto her knees as flashbacks of the night she was raped and the night she had thought she had lost her dad played in vivid color in front of her eyes.

Veronica felt arms surrounding her, but her body was frozen in place. When she felt Logan gently pressing her against his body, trying to comfort her, Veronica looked at Mac who was clearly reeling from the argument. "Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Mac said with a weak smile on her face. Watching as Veronica took strength from Logan, she decided that the person to help Veronica through was the man holding her close. "I should get going to the airport. Logan, take care of our girl."

"I will." The boy vowed as he held tightly onto the woman he loved. He could feel how hard what had happened had hit Veronica but she seemed to be leaning into him and letting him help her.

Veronica was getting her act together when it hit her how devastated Dick had looked. "No, you need to track down Dick."

Logan felt torn but he knew that Veronica needed him more right now, even if she didn't think so. When he saw her turn to look at him, he said "I am staying right here."

"Besides, I don't think that Logan can help Dick. My guess is that Dick will avoid him for a while. I might be able to, though." Mac said thinking about what Dick and she had spent the day talking about then looking at Dick's best friend asked. "Where would he go?"

"Dick's passport is back in Neptune so he won't leave the country and there aren't too many places he can go without his wallet." Logan said.

"I gave him his wallet already." Mac replied. "So, where would he go to forget?"

"Someplace with lots of alcohol, loose women and no silence." Logan said. "More than likely he would head to Vegas. His dad kept a suite at the Wynn but Dick prefers to go to the Bellagio. He can gamble there."

Hugging Veronica, Mac said "I will go find Dick. Talk to him. I don't know what I will say but hopefully I will by the time I get there. Logan, don't screw this up. Veronica, stop running. Please?"

Returning Mac's hug, Veronica said "Thank you."

"I love you." Mac said with a slightly embarrassed face at the emotions that they normally didn't show. "Oh, and congratulations on taking a chance."

"I love you too." Veronica echoed back in shock as she found herself letting her feelings show as she watched Mac leaving and going towards the main hotel. Looking at Logan, she said "I still think that Dick needs you."

"He might, but you need me more." He said reflectively. "This was the first time other than with the police you discussed all that happened that night isn't it?"

Wanting to run, she found it hard to stay and look at him as she said "Yes. I just wanted to move past it now that I knew the truth, but clearly I am still having problems doing that. I didn't mean what I said to Dick about it being his fault."

"Are you sure you didn't mean it?" He probed needing to know what she was thinking.

"Yes, I just wanted to hurt him, wanted him to be in pain like I was at that moment. Parker has been going to these rape group therapy sessions. I went to one of the sessions to support her but had to run out, it was too much to deal with." She confessed. "I just can't handle the sessions, I tried when Lilly died with Ms. James, but I was too paranoid to be honest. I was too scared that; somehow someone would be listening."

Seeing his eyes widen, she said "I know how easy it is, I bugged Ms. James' office when I was looking into who killed Lilly.

"I guess you weren't kidding when you said you had done everything you could to find the truth were you?" He asked then with a twist to his lips about how he hadn't told her he was seeing someone to get help and said "I am not sure that I like knowing that you bugged Rebecca's office. Did you listen to my visits?"

Swallowing hard, worried he would be angry, she said "Y-yes."

"I am pissed, but I do get it. I mean, you got a hold of Duncan's medical records, you bugged the Kane house. I shouldn't be surprised." He said trying hard not to feel she invaded his privacy.

"I am sorry, Logan." She said.

"But you would do it again." He said thinking on how he had kept it secret he was seeing someone for just that reason then looking at Veronica said "I get that, I do. I know how far you will go for someone you love. I am also getting why suggesting counseling won't work but Veronica, you need to talk to someone about your rape, about things even if it Mac and myself."

Veronica hugged Logan tightly as she looked at the picture that had started all of this. "I still think we should go help Mac with Dick."

"It will be fine. I think that I am even more right today than I was yesterday about the two of them talking." Logan said.

Logan offered to feed Veronica and was soon holding her hand as they walked towards the dining room at the hotel. He saw Veronica's eyes drifting down towards their joined hands, so stopping her, he asked "Is everything okay?"

Looking up at him, she smiled and said "Yes, it's just holding your hand like this, its part of what I tend to describe as normal. Mac wants me to smash my idea of normal."

Leaning down to press another kiss to her lips, he said "There is nothing wrong with wanting normal, Veronica. It's just important to realize that normal is what you want it to be. That normal can be what we want to have. I want normal with you, a family, a future, to grow old together."

Veronica felt her need to run start to overwhelm her, but looking down at the ring she was wearing found that some where deep inside she was able to find the beginning of trust.

With a half smile, she looked into his eyes and said "What if I get wrinkled and snore at night or eat crackers in bed?"

"What if I go bald and get chubby? What if I am the one eating the crackers in our bed?" He tossed back at her. "You wouldn't leave me, I wouldn't leave you. Besides, Fiona will keep us in line."

"Who is Fiona?" She asked suspiciously.

"Fiona is the sassy blond who I apparently will love almost as much as you some day." He said with a smug smirk. "Would you like to hear more about it?"

Veronica was struggling with her jealousy but looking at Logan, knowing that she had to be missing something, she answered "Yes, I want to hear more about it."

Tucking a tense Veronica under his coat to ward off the cold, he whispered in her ear "She is going to be our daughter someday. Lilly haunted you and she decided to haunt me."

Veronica's eyes meet Logan's and saw that he was completely serious. "Our daughter? Yours and mine? Our child?"

"Yes, our daughter. She looked about sixteen when I saw her." He said watching as she counted the years and saw her eyes go wide. "So, what do you think is she an accident or do we decide to have her then?"

Staggering a bit at the idea of being a mom, she looked at Logan then said "We will know in about a few years."

"Yes we will." He said as they began to walk towards the hotel again. Once inside, they checked on reservations and were told that a table was available at one.

Heading back towards the lobby, they were soon seated in the comfortable waiting area. Veronica looked at Logan. "I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had found your mom alive at the hotel."

Getting what she was talking about, he reached out to tangle his fingers with hers and said "Me too. But it has gotten easier over the last year or so to realize she is dead. That Trina was being Trina."

"Have you talked to her at all since this summer?" She asked curious to know how things had fallen out since Trina had been shocked to find out that legally Logan had inherited all of their father's funds.

"No, other than to be sent an email with what she wanted for Christmas. I chose something from the list and had the hotel send it to her. Got a thank you note back two days before winter break started stating that I seemed to have misunderstood what she wanted and that she would be expecting the rest of the list anytime."

He said with a bitter twist of his lips. "Though of course, I didn't even get a card from her."

"I am sorry that we didn't get this straightened out before the holiday break." Veronica said feeling guilty as she thought about how in spite of being depressed about their breakup, she would still have had her dad.

"It's going to be fine. I have both Dick and you, I received cards from several people, including your good pal Wallace and Weevil's grandmother who also sent me some food at the Grand as an early gift when she found out I was leaving." He added with a wicked grin.

"Aw, Mrs. Navarro is such a sweet lady." Veronica said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Too bad we can't say the same thing about her grandson." He grumbled.

"You and Weevil just can't admit you have a mutual admiration society going on." She said with a quiet chuckle that became an outright laugh when he began to tickle her.

Both missed the photographer on the other side of the room taking photos and nodding at his boss who was sitting nearby listening in, hoping to get a good scoop from the late Aaron Echolls scandalous son.

"Let's change the subject." Logan hastily said then had a foolish idea "So, what do you think will happen in Vegas."

"Well, it depends." Veronica said as she realized he was trying to lighten the mood. "Either Cliff ends up with a new client when Mac does away with Dick or my dad gets a new case when the Mackenzies hire him to track down Mac after Dick sells her to the Chinese Intelligence agency as a spy."

"There is a third option." Logan said with a sudden idea. "They get drunk together and end up with matching tattoos and wedding rings."

Unable to help herself, Veronica began laughing almost hysterically as she mentally imagined the look on Mac's face if Logan's speculation were to happen. "Then Cliff would still get a client as Mac divorced Dick and took him for half his money."

"Nah, it would be an annulment." Logan said. "Or maybe not, instead Mac would remove his balls with a spoon if he were to even attempt to kiss her."

"Forget his balls; she would just shove him out in front of a truck." Veronica said as they both looked at each other and began to laugh again.

Realizing the time, they went to the dining room and sat down to eat. Looking at the menu, relieved to see it wasn't the sort of restaurant that gave you tiny portions, Veronica ordered a wrap with fries and asked for a bowl of soup to start off.

Logan just told the waitress to give him the same thing before asking Veronica if she wanted a coke or a tea to drink. Seeing her looking at the bar then at him, he said "I just have other plans for this evening and intend to be completely sober to implement them."

"Oh, really?" She asked as they had their soda and soup delivered. "Am I a part of these other plans?"

"Most definitely you are a part of them; in fact you might say you are the star." He said while giving Veronica a thorough looking over. Slowly eating their lunch, they touched on what their other friends were doing.

"Wallace is going to visit his dad's family this week. His roommate went home too." She said then after a moment asked "Wallace said that Piz has a crush on me, do you think he is right."

"He's right." Logan replied. Seeing her surprise, he added "I think you are the only person at Hearst who doesn't know about it. Even Parker noticed, she mentioned it to me at lunch one day when you walked in with him to the union. Asked me if I was ever jealous of his interest."

"Speaking of people interested in one of us." She said a bit tersely as she recalled what Mac had told her about the blond from Colorado.

"I am not interested in Parker." Logan said as he backed up while their waitress delivered their wraps. When she asked if they wanted ketchup, both said yes then waited for her to deliver it before speaking again.

"I had no idea until she mentioned it. So, I say we make it clear to both of them that we aren't ending and that they are waiting for something that won't happen."

"Okay with me." She said then biting into her wrap moaned at how delicious it was.

Logan went hard as a rock and let out a moan of his own that Veronica noticed. "You didn't even bite into your wrap yet."

"Don't make that sound again unless you want me to drag you up to your room and have my way with you." He said his eyes once again the color of warm chocolate.

Biting again into her wrap, Veronica winked at Logan then stretching her legs, brushed against his calves. Swallowing a few minutes later, she said "This isn't as much fun as at the beach. It's much harder to kick off your shoes when wearing boots."

Recalling when she had done just that and how he had been unable to move from behind the picnic table for a good hour even after spending much of that time trying to imagine Mrs. Navarro naked. Spending the next half hour in state of arousal and yet inaction, Logan was grateful when Veronica rejected the offered dessert menu.

Paying the bill, reaching for her hand as they hurried from the table, they missed seeing the narrowed eyes of Madison as she fumed. She had called Dick only to get his voice mail, then the brush off when she called the pilot for his father's private jet.

"No way in hell." She fumed there was no way that she was going to let Veronica Mars win Logan Echolls when she herself didn't even have Dick to cater to her whims.

After paying her bill, Madison decided to head back to the Echolls cabin to find some speck of a clue as to where he had gone.

Arriving at the cabin, furious to realize that instead of using his own place to sex up the slut Mars girl, he had gone to Dicks. That changed her plans as she made one more last ditch effort to track down her ex boyfriend at the airport.

Calling information to get the number for the private hanger at the airport, she pretended to be Mrs. Casablancas personal secretary and finally was told that the Casablancas jet had returned to Neptune with one passenger. A quick stop back at the hotel hoping to catch Shelly only to hear a voice mail that made it clear her best friend was already on her way home.

Driving to the airport, dumping her rental car as quickly as possible, she wasn't happy to be forced to fly coach if she wanted to return home that very day. Soon seated on the jet, she was casually glancing out the window as they taxied down the runway; she saw that it was beginning to snow.

LoVe

At the condo, Logan looked at a half naked Veronica asleep on his side and grimaced a little. He had decided half way through their make out session to call a halt to things much to his lover's surprise.

She had only objected slightly to his suggestion that they wait until the New Year as a symbol of the changes they were intending on making.

When Veronica had pressed a kiss to his cheek, claiming he was the most romantic straight man in the world, Logan had only smirked at first until he had felt her hand cupping him and fought his own urges to finish what he had started.

Now two hour later, listening to her soft breathing he found it difficult not to smile as he began to work through his already formulating plans for their future.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had a car accident and had to stop writing for all of my stories.

Neptune Chapter Five

Logan hung up Veronica's cell phone after a conversation with Keith Mars that he could have never imagined possible even a day earlier. The former Sheriff had been very honest about his own fears regarding Veronica and himself, but had also admitted that he felt the two of them were meant to be together.

Logan had told the man about his attending counseling and how he was dealing not only with his anger issues but also with his fears about hurting people like his father had.

Keith had listened to all he had to say and then had made a few suggestions that Logan felt were things he might want to consider.

"Logan, where are you?" Veronica entering the condo living room to see Logan seated on the sofa holding her phone. "Did my phone ring?"

"No. I called your dad." He said then told her the rest. "We spoke about Mac and Dick then we spoke about what I was planning on talking to him about when we returned. Well except about my idea of you moving in with me if I found a house I liked."

"My dad may be less than thrilled about that idea. He only came around to the idea of us dating." Veronica said as she moved to sit next to him on the sofa.

Logan leaned to kiss her then his eyes narrowed before reaching into his pocket for the small knife he carried when they came to Aspen to ski. "Veronica, you forgot to remove your tag."

With that, he cut the sales tag and handed it to her. Seeing her eyes widen as she looked at it, he asked. "What is it?"

"Mac said that somehow Lilly bought the clothes, even if she didn't know how, but I doubted it for a while. Now I don't. This was purchased at her favorite shop and she is nuts enough to pay seven hundred dollars for a sweater." Veronica said as she realized that the long sleeve turtleneck sweater was made of cashmere.

"Dick will never notice." Logan said knowing that that was true.

"Still, I have to apologize for this." Veronica said feeling uneasy as she began to think about the cost of the clothes that were in the suitcases and the cost of the flight to Aspen.

Stopping her when she began to stand, Logan said "Veronica, let it go for now. I will speak to Dick, well when he is located. I know that you have no idea but Dick's money… he is… well beyond wealthy. I mean, he will feel uncomfortable if you bring it up."

Mac pulled off the road just past the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, making a few calls; she found no evidence of Dick staying any where on the Strip. Lifting her lap top, she began to explore the reservation system for various hotels until she found one potential chance of finding Dick.

Arriving at the Mandalay, she parked and went inside to look around the huge hotel. The noise level was unbelievable as she crossed the casino floor and went to locate her best chance of finding Dick. In the kitchen, she found a spot without cameras and logged onto a nearby computer.

Finding proof of Dick's location, she was a bit surprised to see that he was staying not at the loud and brash Mandalay Bay but at the Four Seasons which was considered part of the same hotel but in a building off to the back. An exclusive and sedate hotel instead of casino, so clearly he was attempting to hide by changing his known habits.

Walking past the huge and opulent pool, she moved towards the smaller hotel. Entering the building, she immediately noticed a difference as it was much quieter and even the air smelt expensive as she smiled at a passing security guard and went to the elevator.

On the top floor, she went to the correct suite and rang the discreet doorbell. Getting no answer, she rang the bell again then again five minutes later.

Hearing the door opening this time, she looked in shock at the person who let her in. "What are you doing in Dick's room?"

Grimacing, Weevil led her to the sofa and said. "Rich boy called and paid me a thousand dollars to bring some of his shit to him. Then when I arrived, gave my name to the staff and said I would be staying in the suite. Told me to order room service and anything else I wanted for two days. I think I was to keep the blood hounds away."

"Where is he, Weevil?" Mac asked a bit surprised at Dick's attempts to hide himself had gone this far. He had used a fake name and was staying at an unusual hotel for him, then had had Weevil staying there to further distract them.

"Just let it go, Mac. He doesn't want to be found." Weevil replied.

"Don't make me call Veronica." Mac stated taking out her cell phone to do just that.

"Aw, don't drag Vee into this." Weevil said then when he saw she was about to dial the private investigator. "Look, he didn't tell me where he was going, but-"

"But what?"

Groaning, Weevil went across the hotel suite living room to the small kitchenette and brought back a piece of paper. "He paid me a bit more to let him know if anyone came looking for him. I was supposed to call this number. You know, he isn't as stupid as he seems. He picked up a drop phone at some point."

"Lucky for me and unlucky for him, if it is on, I can track him." Mac said setting up her laptop on the table. Within minutes, she said "Aha. He is not here."

"Okay."

"Call him and tell him that I showed up and that I left a few minutes ago. I think he will believe you if you tell him that I left. If it was Veronica he might have doubts."

Weevil did as asked and was surprised to hear an older female voice who promised to pass the message on to Dick. Looking at the computer geek, he saw her smirk and then saw that she was tracking calls from the number he had just called. "Gotcha."

A few minutes later, Weevil saw Mac closing her computer before she thanked him and said "Thanks, Weevil."

"You should let the rich boy pout privately." Weevil tried to warn her but Mac only looked at him then shook her head no. "Hey, don't be dragged in like Vee has been. Mac, you can do way better than that idiot."

"First, he isn't an idiot." Mac replied then said softly "Weevil, if there is anyone on this earth that understands how screwed up I was about what Cassidy did, it's Dick. So the opposite is also true. He just learned the entirety of all that his brother did, Weevil. He shouldn't be left alone right now."

"Well then why isn't Logan here? You know his best friend and partner in crime." Weevil asked already knowing the answer and that Logan was out someplace with a certain blond PI.

"Logan is with Veronica, I asked him to let me deal with this." Mac replied softly then smiled at Weevil and to his surprise hugged him and said "Merry Christmas Weevil."

"Christmas isn't until tomorrow." Weevil said then watched as Mac left, going off on her tracking down of the Casablancas heir. He was once again reminded of Vee and her need to protect Logan from himself.

Mac went down two floors and taking a deep breath, knocked on the hotel room door. When it opened, she saw Dick scowling at her. "How did you track me down?"

"You did a good job, but you forgot I spent the last few years watching how Vee works." She said moving past him and into the hotel suite. It wasn't as large as the penthouse up two floors but it wasn't a simple room either.

Looking at the packed bags in the corner and the travel guides on the bed in the far room, she walked into there then asked. "So which is it going to be Mexico, Australia, maybe Brazil?"

Closing the door, Dick looked at the girl standing in the middle of his room and said "None of the above. I was thinking that they would be the first place someone came to locate me. I was thinking Canada or Ireland, maybe Scotland so that I wouldn't have to learn a new language."

Setting her messenger bag down on the bed, she sighed then said "Running won't solve anything Dick. Your memories will still be traveling with you."

"I am not running to forget, I am leaving to let others be able to forget." Dick said. "My brother did so much damage, more than I even was aware of. I just… between my father and Beaver, then there was my own stupidity."

"Dick." Mac went over to where he was standing and turned him around so that he was facing her. "You are not responsible for what your father did to people."

"But I sure profited from it." He said bitterly then walking over to the desk, he picked up a file and handed it to her. "My financial worth, I got a call from my dad, he wanted me to release some of my funds to him. I told him I couldn't because I don't want to go to jail. It's the first time in my entire life I have ever stood up to the man."

"Dick, its okay. You just needed a chance to mature." Mac said trying to help even if she didn't understand where the impulse to do so came from.

"You have no idea, none, Mac." He replied then said "My dad put funds in both Beaver's and my accounts over the years that apparently can't be connected to his fraud, but I know that it is, that the money had to come from his crimes. Then there are our trust funds which we got last year earlier. While Beaver got his trust fund and spent it on that Phoenix Land trust, he didn't get access to the other funds yet. He would have on his eighteenth birthday but since he died, it came to me."

"Oh, Dick." Mac could see how upset Dick was at the idea of profiting from Beaver's death. "If you don't want the money, give it to a charity or to those he hurt."

"I would but it would open me up to being sued for everything I have. I all selfish enough to admit I don't want to be completely broke." Dick said handing her the next file. "My attorney's risk assessment is inside. I have all the money I could ever spend in two lifetimes and other than Logan not a single person in my life who wants to be there for any reason other than my money."

"That isn't true, Dick. What about your frat brothers?" She asked.

"None of them are friends, Mac." He stated. "At least they won't be after I eventually get kicked out of school."

"Then don't get kicked out." She said then sitting down on the bed, pulled him down next to her. She was unable to stop herself from noticing how warm Dick's body was. "Dick, only you can fix this. You need to make the changes you want. You were scarred by what your life was like, just like the rest of the innocents in Neptune. The difference is you have the money and the will to make changes if you want to."

Scoffing, he said "Do you really think my past won't follow me?"

"So what, the rest of us face our past every time we open the front door. Every single day Logan goes to school; he faces knowing that people know his father is a murderer, Aaron slept with and killed his first girlfriend. That Lynn committed suicide, that he was thought a murderer. He still manages to get through each day somehow."

"I am not smart, not like Logan." He replied.

"Dick, you were plenty smart enough to hide away from me. If I had been the Mac of two years ago, I would have never located you. You just don't seem to try at anything except getting laid. If you put that much effort into your life, it could be so different."

With a wry look on his face, he said "I never felt that it was worth it, but if I want the name Casablancas to mean anything more than murderer or thief, I guess I have to be the one to change it."

"So do so." Mac replied.

"I will but wherever I end up." He replied.

"No, stay, please, Dick." She said not sure why she was trying to convince him to remain in Neptune, after all she was planning on leaving when she graduated college herself.

"Why?" He asked surprised that Mac was trying to convince him to stay in Neptune. Shouldn't she be leading the charge wanting him gone with no chance of any return.

"Dick, it's your home. No matter where you go, people will eventually learn what happened, at least in Neptune, you already know everyone. Just think about it, okay?"

Dick sat there for a bit then looked at Mac. "Why are you here?"

"Logan was going to come looking for you, to support you but I suggested that he let me come to you. Veronica didn't agree, but I talked them into it. I went home and got my car then drove here."

"Why?" He asked clearly confused.

"I am not sure." She admitted then continuing explained "I just knew that if anyone understood how you felt, I figured it was me. I didn't want you to be alone tomorrow."

"Why? Christmas has always been our family at some outrageous spot or back in Neptune when my father got a new wife. It's never been about being a family." He replied.

"Okay, well let's go. I have an idea." Mac said then looking at the sad pile of suitcases in the corner asked. "What were your plans for tomorrow?"

"My big plan was to get drunk and to forget that it is a holiday." Dick replied honestly.

"I have my own idea." Grabbing Dick's arm, she asked "Do you have a car or do we need to take mine?"

"There is a limo-"

"No, no limo." She said then waited for Dick to put on his shoes. Outside, she led the way back across the pools and to the Mandalay Bay parking garage.

Getting in, she waited until Dick had put his seat belt on then pretended to pray, she glared and said "I will have you know, I am an excellent driver."

"Where are we going?" He asked as she backed out and they soon were out on Route 15.

"We are off to find either a Target or a Walmart or even a Kmart." She replied and soon found what she was looking for on the outskirts of town. Seeing the sign that said they were closing at six PM, she hurried over to the carts and told Dick to grab one.

"But you have one, why do I need one." He asked.

"We both need one." She said as she led the way to the holiday decorations. Finding a small artificial tree, she said "Find some decorations that you like."

"Like what?" He asked clearly having no idea what she was talking about.

Mac led the way to the next aisle and said "The tree is pre-lit, so we don't need lights. Do you like tinsel?"

Scrunching his nose at the tinsel, he said "No, what else is there?"

Showing him the scattering of glass and plastic ornaments, she watched as he suddenly began reaching for those that got his attention. "We only need about twenty, Dick."

"Okay." He said while she went to grab wrapping paper and tape then a stocking for each of them. When she returned, she found he had gotten the hint and had moved down the aisle picking and choosing various items. "What now?"

"We need to get some food. Do you have a kitchen in your suite?"

"I have a refrigerator and a microwave. There are some glasses as well." He replied. Mac lead the way to the kitchenware department and a few items later, Dick saw a dinner set with a fir tree on it and grabbed enough for both of them.

"Perfect." She said as she led the way to the frozen food department. Finding a small precooked ham and then gathering what else they needed, she asked. "What kind of pie do you like?"

"Apple pie is the best." He replied and followed her to the bakery and then to the fruit and veggies. Seeing how full her cart was, he asked. "What now?"

"Candy." She replied with a laugh as she watched him tossing in bags and boxes candy. "We need hot cocoa and see if you can find candy canes. I will meet you in front of the book department in five minutes."

When Dick arrived, he saw a staff member of the store with Mac who had two more carts. "Mac, where are we going now?"

"Hand me three hundred dollars and keep three hundred for yourself." She said then when he had done so, she said "Okay, now you go purchase what you think I would like, I will do the same for you. We have to hurry though; they will only be open for another twenty five minutes."

Dick looked at Mac and then hurried off, not sure what was going on but agreeing to her request. When they returned to the front, Mac and Dick checked out separately then went to where the staff member was waiting with their already purchased items.

Dick laughed in spite of how crowded the small car was as they pulled up in front of the hotel. "What now?"

"Bribe a bell boy to help us, wait, never mind." Mac called out to Weevil who she saw was getting ready to leave to head back to Neptune. The bald man took one look at everything in the car and then tried to back away but Mac gave him the Vee look and he was a goner.

Once everything was in the larger suite, Dick and Weevil silently obeyed Mac's order to go down to the old suite and bring up everything there.

Weevil was in the elevator when Dick asked. "I don't get it, I thought she was shy. The total opposite of Ronnie, yet here I am obeying her like a trained dog."

Weevil laughed out loud at the confused expression on Dick's face then said "Man, you rich boys just don't get it do you. Girls like Mac and Vee; they are the ones you have to watch out for. Cause they're real man. No games, no I love you if you buy me things, no sex cause of who you are. It's why Echolls is half rich boy, half house husband."

"Damn." Dick went silent as they finished getting his things. Lifting Mac's computer bag, Dick held it out to Weevil. "Here you carry this, because if I break it, she will destroy me and I think I have finally found that reason to care about someone other than myself."

"Do it yourself." Weevil grumbled before adding. "What is it about you two? Why can't these smart girls see what a disaster you are?"

Dick looked at Weevil intending on taunting him about being jealous when something that nightmare Lilly said came to him. "I think it is because we are such disasters. Man, this is fucked up, it is way too soon. People will stare at us and make comments about Beaver."

Wanting to ask what the boy who had suddenly grown a brain what he was talking about, Weevil didn't; afraid he already knew the answer. He had been watching the four most affected by the sick twisted Casablancas brother and it was clear the very public meltdown Dick had been having was over more than just his brother.

Upstairs, Mac was calling Logan and Veronica who had decided to head home to Neptune for the rest of the holiday. "So, anyhow, I located Dick. I am going to stay with him until after the New Year."

"Mac, are you sure that is such a good idea. Logan and I are a bit worried."

"If this is about Cassidy…" Mac began only to hear the words Cliff, annulment as well as something about community property coming from the background. "What is going on there, did the two of you get married or something?"

"No, Logan is convinced the two of you will get drunk and end up married or that you will kill Dick. The other scenario involves Dick selling your computer skills to the Chinese." Veronica explained then had to listen to Mac's laughter. "Those are all perfectly legitimate worries, Mac."

Hearing the sound of male voices, Veronica asked. "Is Dick back, Logan wants to speak to him."

"One minute." Mac hit mute then asked Dick if he was up to speaking to Logan. The blond took the phone then went into the bathroom while Weevil asked Mac if she was sure she didn't want to head back to Neptune with him.

"No. Thanks Weevil." She said nodding her head towards Dick's bedroom door. "Merry Christmas, Weevil."

"I better get going. My adula won't be happy if I am late for the Midnight Mass." He replied then wished her a Happy Christmas before he left the suite with his own bag.

"Where did Weevil go?" Dick asked when he entered the room and gave her back her phone. "Its in the red, you need to charge it."

Putting her phone on charge and looking around the much larger suite, Mac asked. "Why are we here; the other suite would have been perfectly fine."

"Are you sure about that, because; there was only one bed in it." Dick said with a well practiced leer.

"I would have slept on the sofa, Dick." She stated then looking around asked. "Which bags have the food in them? We have to get the ham and fixings into the fridge."

Finding the small pantry that contained it, Mac was relieved to see that everything would fit. Looking at the small sink, she handed Dick the dish washing liquid and then changed her mind. "Would you find the dishes we bought, please?"

Dick did as requested and was amused when Mac put the disposable stuff in the small cupboards then washed the glass and porcelain ones before drying them and putting them back on the dining room table.

"Wait, you forgot the placemats." Dick said removing the tags from them and the napkins. Looking at the newly set table, he couldn't resist saying "Nice, Mac."

With a smile, she said "Okay, where should we put the tree?"

Entering the larger space designated as the living room, Mac saw that Dick had opened the curtains and that they had an incredible view of the strip. Stopping to look, fascinated by all the lights, she never noticed him looking around trying to find the answer to her question.

"Either the desk or on the coffee table would work." He finally answered then waited for her reply. When there wasn't one, he moved over to join her in front of the windows. "Its pretty, isn't it."

"I wouldn't say pretty, more like overwhelming." She answered then turned to look at the spots he had suggested. "We would have to move the table a bit, but that would be perfect."

Dick found himself opening boxes with one of the knives they had bought then reading instructions in spite of being certain he could put the tree together without them.

They were laughing as they finally got that there was nothing to put together, so Dick lifted the small tree out and sat it down. The branches fell open and Mac found the cord. "Wait, where is that extension cord I got?"

Finding the green cord in one of the bags, Dick helped her get things plugged in and turned on the lights. "Okay, now what?"

"The bulbs you picked out need to have their tags removed and put on the tree. I will take care of the topper I got." Mac replied then carefully removed the star from its container.

Dick looked up as he laid the last ornament on the sofa in time to see Mac straightening the star topper. "It's facing the wrong way. Shouldn't it be towards the sofa?"

Agreeing, Mac turned it around and then saw all the ornaments that Dick had gotten. "Dick that is way more than twenty."

"I know, but I couldn't make up my mind." He said as she moved over to sit on the floor in front of the menagerie he had chosen. When she began to put hooks on them then hand them to him, he realized she wanted him to put them on the tree.

When he was finished not a single green spot existed and Mac couldn't help thinking that while it would look terrible on a large tree their small three footer looked great like that.

"What's next, boss?" Mac looked at Dick then around the suite trying to figure out where to hand the stockings. "Mac?"

"Sorry, am trying to figure out where to put the stockings." She said then with a laugh, turned on the entertainment center and found the channel that always had fireplace logs on it. "Okay, let's see if the heavy cast iron hangers will stay."

Dick looked at the one with a little girl playing with a cat, then at the boy with a dog and went to touch them. "We weren't allowed to have pets."

"Why not, did your stepmothers object?" Mac asked a bit astounded as she got a glimpse into Dick's world.

Dick went to the window, no longer in the cheerful mood that Mac had helped create. Leaning his head against the cool glass, he took a deep breath and remembered the past. He considered not telling her but knew he had to. "Yes and no. Stepmother number one, Sadie didn't like animals but even when she was gone, dad said no because of what Beaver did."

Mac set down the heavy hangers and moved to where Dick was and asked. "What did Beaver do, Dick?"

"We had this dog, she was beautiful. It was just a puppy. Dad said that we couldn't keep it, that it had to go back to our mother's place. Beaver got angry at being told no; he said that if he couldn't have the dog, no one could."

"Dick?" Mac was curious to know if Dick was aware of the tears on his face but didn't want him to stop talking.

"He fed her poison, Mac. He killed our dog. I can still recall hearing it moaning when I went down to the kitchen to slip it a snack that morning. My dad took it to the vet and then when he came home, said that the dog had died of poisoning."

"That doesn't mean Beaver killed it, Dick." She said almost wanting him to be wrong.

"I never thought he did, at the time. But a few years ago, we were arguing. He said something that makes me think differently. He was warning me off and said "Do you remember what happened to Sally Dick?" Sally was the dog's name, Mac."

Shivering now, Mac asked. "How old was Beaver when you had the dog?"

"Ten." Dick replied then when he noticed how close Mac was reached out to hold her, needing the comfort of her warmth. "My dad took me into his study and told me at the time that Sally died because of Beaver, but I didn't believe him. I thought he lied to get rid of our dog."

Mac didn't want to believe that Beaver could kill a dog at the age of ten, but she needed some answers and vowed that after the start of the year she would speak to Veronica and find out at what age the abuse had started. Because if this wasn't the result of the abuse, there was a very good chance that Beaver had been a sociopath in the making.

A short time later the doorbell rang and Dick said. "I ordered us some dinner. Burger and fries for me, a salad for you."

Letting in the waiter, Dick thanked him and signed for the meal and tip before showing her the milkshakes. "Soy Mint for you and banana for myself."

Not sure why but Mac had to laugh at the boyish expression on his face as they sat down in the dining room and ate their meal. "You know I bet this is the least sophisticated meal that this table has ever seen."

A short time later, Mac said "What is for dessert?"

"Candy!" Dick answered then moved towards the bags of it on the floor near the chair.

"Let's wait a bit, okay?" She asked then standing put the hotel plates back on the trolley then rolled it into the hallway as Dick lifted the two wrought iron stocking hangers and silently placed them where they belonged before finding the stockings Mac had chosen for them.

Once they had cleaned up everything, Mac went to the wrapping paper and held out the bag of rolls to Dick saying. "Chose what you want to use to wrap what you got me."

"Why?" He asked clearly confused.

"Dick, when you purchased presents before, how did they end up wrapped. Did your step moms do it?" She asked.

Blinking clearly confused, he thought about it then said "I never thought about it, I thought that my dad paid someone to wrap them."

"Of course, well you are in for a real treat. YOU, Dick Casablancas are going to have to wrap what you chose yourself." She said prodding him with one of the rolls of paper.

Standing he looked at her then said "Mac, I have never done that, I don't know how to wrap gifts."

"No better time to learn than now." She said while pulling out a pair of scissors and some of the tape. "Good luck. There are bows inside the bag too."

With that, she picked up the bags of the items she got for Dick and went to the second bedroom, while Dick stood in the middle of the living room, his jaw wide open as he stared at the now closed door.

Veronica and Logan arrived at the apartment complex just before midnight and were letting themselves in when they heard the amused voice of her father saying "You know, neither of you look like an old fat elf."

"Merry Christmas, dad." Veronica said throwing herself into his arms while Backup kept pressing against Logan wanting to be acknowledged by the guest. When they had let go, Keith looked at Logan and then his little girl and noticed that there was a closeness between them now that had been missing before.

"Merry Christmas, Veronica. You too, Logan." He replied then said "Why do I think that Logan is staying the night on the sofa?"

"No, I am heading to the hotel. I have to find my old phone and get it set it. Dick tossed my new one into the toilet at the condo." Logan replied even as he kept petting Veronica's pet.

"Unless you are expecting a call from someone important; stay." Keith replied wanting to try and get used to the boy who clearly owned his daughter's heart.

"I should get my phone, just in case Trina decides that we are family." Logan answered reluctantly.

"Call her from my phone." Veronica said then telling her father she would be right back, followed Logan outside along with Backup who clearly didn't want either of them to leave. "Stay please?"

"Are you sure?" He asked his eyes on Veronica wanting to know that she wasn't just trying to do what she thought he wanted.

"Yes. At some point my dad and you are going to have to spend time together. At a holiday celebration is a good start." She replied then pressed a kiss against his lips before ducking back inside where it was warm.

Inside, Keith finished putting presents under the tree and turned around when his daughter came back inside. Lifting the coat, he said "Nice jacket. Pretty boy pick it out."

"Nope, apparently my dead ex best friend did." Veronica said then sitting down next to her dad added "She left after telling me some truths I needed to know."

"When I saw her, she said it was her last visit." He stated it but both knew it was more of a question than a statement.

"I know and I think that is for the best." Veronica replied then told him. "No more looking back. It's time to look forward, for all of us."

Logan entered the small apartment with a grimace and said "Trina is still in Hawaii and still wants to know where the rest of her holiday list is."

"What did you tell her?" Veronica asked.

With a chuckle he said "I told her that Santa gave her the one present out of pity, that only good girls and boys got presents for Christmas and that only by becoming one of the good girls would she ever get anything more than one gift from me."

Veronica knew how Trina was, only suggested "Maybe next time, send her coal and tell her in about a hundred years it will turn into the diamonds she wanted."

"Before we head off to bed, have either of you heard from Dick or Mac?" Keith asked as he went to stand.

"Yes, they are in Vegas. I am considering putting Cliff on retainer for Mac. I still think that they will either end up married or Dick dead." Logan replied as he hid his yawn.

Veronica went to get some blankets and a pillow for Logan, ignoring how her dad pointedly left his door ajar when he went to bed after telling them both he would see them in the morning. Backup didn't seem to know where to go as he walked between Keith's bedroom, Veronica's bedroom and where Logan was sleeping.

"After the call from Dick earlier, why are you so sure that Mac will end up killing him?" Veronica asked as she snuggled up with Logan.

"I am only adding that choice to keep you from heading straight to Vegas." He said as he rested his head on top of hers.

"I don't get it." She said lifting her head from his chest.

"I promise I will explain tomorrow. For now, you had better head to your room before you fall asleep here. I really don't want to start this truce off with your father wanting to kill me in the morning." Logan replied then pressing a kiss to her lips helped her up and watched her as she went into her bedroom.

When her lights went out a bit later, Logan waited a bit then lifting her phone returned Dick's call. "Dick, what is it?"

Dick looked around the hotel room scattered with remnants of his battle with the wrapping paper and tape, before he went to the living room and found that Mac had finished long ago and had gone to bed.

Seeing the packages with his name on them, as well as the stocking with a name tag tied to it, it took everything in him not to shake the packages as he returned to his bedroom. He had called Logan earlier, needing to warn him about what he had told Mac but now, he realized that this wasn't something he could speak of on the phone.

Hearing his cell phone ringing, he hesitated then answered it when he saw it said Hellhound. "Hello?"

"Dick, what is it?"

"Nothing, I just need to talk to you when we get home." He said then hearing Logan's question explained what Mac had done. A few shocked laughs later, Dick grumbled "If I had known how hard it was, I would have gotten her books. They have to be easier to wrap."

"It's not that hard, Dick." Logan replied then with a bit more laughter at the other man's doubt said "I have always wrapped them myself, at least the ones for Veronica."

"You two have spent the holiday together before?"

Logan didn't want to get into his long crush and how he had often put effort into what he had gotten Veronica than even what he had gotten his mother, he quickly changed the subject to his fear about what was going on with Dick and Mac.

There was quiet then Dick said "I didn't think anyone had noticed."

"I may have been a mess but I saw you repeating my mistakes. When I heard what you said to Mac in her dorm room this year, I knew. Dick, you need to tell her at some point." Logan replied.

"I will but it's not the same as it is for Veronica and you, Logan. You were friends before you screwed up. She hated me and rightly so." Dick replied his eyes on the luggage in the corner. "I still am thinking on going away."

"Wait and go next summer. Give this a chance, Dick. You owe it to yourself. To Mac." Logan softly replied. "Now, I had better go to sleep, I am not sure how comfortable this sofa is going to be."

"Man, you are on the sofa. It must be love." Dick jeered playfully then said "Merry Christmas Logan."

"Merry Christmas, Dick."

Dick hung up and went to get out of his clothes to head to sleep. Only wearing his boxers in case Mac had some sort of emergency, he drifted off to sleep, shocked to think that he was already anticipating tomorrow morning.

Logan woke up to the smell of coffee and saw Mr. Mars standing in front of him holding a cup out to him while Backup sat at his feet, his tail wagging. "Thanks."

Swallowing the hot but straight coffee, Logan maneuvered out from the blankets and sheet to stand and follow the man into the small kitchenette where he was handed a spoon and pointed towards the sugar pot.

"Veronica will sleep until noon if we let her." Keith replied. "I am going to get some fresh donuts and you are coming with me."

"Uh oh." Logan said not sure what to think.

Outside in the fresh crisp air, Logan was amused to realize that he was going along as the driver for both of his passengers when Backup climbed over the driver's seat and into the back seat.

Keith held up his arm and said "I haven't been able to drive since my accident. Cliff showed up yesterday and refused to let me leave after he had colluded with my only child."

"So basically this is a jail break, right?" Logan asked as he drove to the nearest donut shop.

"Well that and I overheard your conversation with the Casablancas boy last night. I wanted to know how long he had has feelings for Cindy." Keith had figured out that there might be an issue up ahead due to the secrets Mac was keeping and found that he wanted to help if he could.

"I really don't know. I just noticed how guilty he felt after he said something to hurt her earlier this year. He started drinking very heavy, and the whoring around was way worse. I recognized the signs because I would do or say something to Veronica and then react the same way." Logan said swallowing hard but knowing he had to be honest about his past with the man's daughter.

"Okay." Logan wanted more than okay, he needed to know what Keith was thinking but didn't ask out of fear of ruining the truce.

Inside, Logan saw the looks they were getting and couldn't resist asking the man. "Are the odd looks for you or for me?"

"I think it is strictly you. You look like you just rolled out of bed." Keith said pointing out how wrinkled Logan's khakis and t-shirt was. "Your hair is standing straight up and your face looks like it hasn't seen a razor in months."

Peering into a nearby mirror, Logan said "Days."

"I can remember when you didn't have body hair or have to shave. There are days I wish you were that same quiet and polite boy." Keith grumbled while Backup leaned forward and gave a quick bark of agreement.

"But if I was that same boy, you wouldn't have managed your jail break." Logan replied then when they were at the counter ordered a dozen donuts and two coffees. "Oh and do you have any fresh bear claws?"

"Yes, they just came out of the oven."

"Better make it a dozen of them. My girlfriend will be able to eat six of them by herself." Logan stated and when he went to pay found that they were already taken care of.

"Have a nice Christmas, Sheriff." The older woman working said with a flirtatious smile at the former Sheriff.

Outside, Logan was laughing as they headed back to the apartment. "Does Veronica know that she has a rival for your affections?"

"Olivia was just being friendly." Keith replied then winced as he recalled the wink the woman had given him. Since her husband had died a few years before, Olivia Wiltsie had been rather friendly.

"Is that what they call it?" Logan asked as he carried the two white boxes into the apartment while Keith carried the coffees.

Finding a scowling Veronica standing in the middle of the apartment wearing a pair of men's pajamas with her arms crossed, Keith promptly said. "Logan wanted to go to the bakery."

"Really?" Veronica said in a disbelieving tone. "So Logan how was Mrs. Wiltsie? Any fresh donuts today?"

Holding out the box of bear claws as a peace offering, Logan leaned down and whispered "I was an innocent bystander in this escape. You should also know that you standing there like that wearing what you are is making me want to forget my vow."

A slow grin grew and Veronica spared a glare at her father who was now pretending to ignore them before she pressed a kiss on Logan's lips then said louder "Merry Christmas."

Going to her father, Veronica shook her head then put a bear claw on a plate before suggesting that Logan get the rest of the presents from the back of the Xterra while she went to dress.

"Veronica, why don't you let Logan shower and change first?" Keith suggested only for Veronica to agree then state she would get the stuff from the car once Logan had retrieved his overnight bag and a shopping bag. Backup came back and forth following all of the adults around.

Seeing Cliff crossing the complex parking lot, Veronica got the attorney to help her and when they had everything inside, watched as she fussed over her dad then Logan before greeting Cliff yet again.

Veronica watched as her dad and her boyfriend tiptoed around each other but felt a sense of gratefulness as they clearly began to bond over their respective feelings for her.

"Shall we open gifts?" Cliff asked as he watched begin opening gifts. Seeing the way that Logan was watching Keith's daughter he was considering needling his one time client but after a shake of Keith's head let it go.

Keith was thanking Veronica for getting him the jacket he had often joked about wanting when he saw what she was opening and saw the piece of paper dropping. Lifting it he read what it said and found it hard as her father not to comment as he silently handed it to her.

Veronica let out an audible gulp as she looked between her father and her now still boyfriend as she read what Logan had written. Looking at her father she weakly said "I can explain."

"No need." Keith replied and tried to remind himself that he was being accepting of Logan as the words he had read rang through his head. _Ronnie, I want my pajamas back, now that you have something to sleep in to keep at my place._ It was one thing knowing his daughter was having sex with Logan, but getting actual evidence was another.

Logan was pale as he recalled what he had written and found that he had no clever words to help smooth this over so he opened his present from his distant grandparents only to wish he hadn't.

Cliff who had seen what was in the box that Logan had quickly closed chuckled as he began to understand what was going on.

"Logan, who sent those pajamas to you?" Keith asked. He had seen the matching pajamas and knew that they hadn't come from his daughter.

"Aaron's parents." He said quietly.

"I thought he was an only child whose parents were dead." Cliff said thinking on what was on the man's bio.

"Aaron was an only child but an orphan, no. Aaron disowned them when he became famous." Logan replied.

Seeing Veronica's eyes on him, he added "They don't approve of me, either. They are strict Southern Baptists who still send me a present every year because they consider it their Christian duty. I get a Bible from them at Easter, a card with money for my birthday and pajamas and pair of slippers every year at Christmas. No visits, no contact in years except to write me a letter telling me that they felt I was just like my father."

"They haven't tried to get in touch since your mom died? Since Aaron was murdered?" Cliff was shocked. This young man could have used guidance from someone for years yet it was clear that he had no one in his corner except a few of his friends and Veronica.

"No, other than to send a sympathy card." Logan replied.

Keith let go of his unease about the pajamas and went to open his next gift to take the pressure off Logan. Seeing the keys and then the box underneath, he opened it and said "Veronica, eight tracks?"

"For your new hip daddy-o car." She said with a smirk as she looked between Cliff and himself. "What was it you said? That you were cool as you drove your 68 Camero with the eight track and what was it Aqua Velva aftershave."

Shuddering, Cliff said "Please tell me you didn't buy him that aftershave. The smell is impossible to get rid of."

"No, I just found the Camero and had some help repairing it. It arrived two days ago and is under the car port it's why I didn't want you to leave the apartment." She replied with another glare at her boyfriend as well as her father.

"I am guessing Cliff helped get the car here?" Keith said standing to go outside to check out what his daughter had done. Stepping over a now sleeping guard dog, he hurried down the stairs not sure he wanted to know where and who had helped her do this.

"He wanted to, but no. I had someone who I knew you would never suspect." Veronica replied then added "Wallace drove it over and you should know that he said for every mile he drove, he felt he lost a certain percentage of cool points."

Logan followed the two middle aged men down to the parking lot holding onto Veronica's hand as they drooled over an old car that he didn't get the appeal of. "Explain?"

"It's an old dad thing." She said resting her head on his shoulder. "I almost had a heart attack when I read your note."

"I forgot that that box was in the Xterra, I was going to give them to you at the Grande." He whispered as they waved goodbye at the two men backing out of the parking lot. "Should we wait for them?"

"No, I want to open the rest of my presents." Veronica said as they went back upstairs to do just that.

Dick had woken up at dawn but had stayed in bed not sure what the normal person did on Christmas morning. His family opened presents then made the obligatory visit to the nearby Protestant church before having brunch with people they didn't give a damn about. Then Beaver and he would go find their friends to spend the day.

It was almost ten when he finally decided to tip toe to Mac's room to see if she was up. Getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt, he debated dressing up but felt awkward so he decided to just wear what he already had on.

Barefooted he was coming out of the door when he stopped, shocked at what he saw. The holiday lights had been turned on, there was soft Christmas music playing in the background and Mac asleep in her comforter on the sofa in front of the tree.

Bending down, he found it hard to resist his first instinct which was to kiss her awake. Instead he brushed the hair off her face and softly called out her name. "Cindy."

"Later, Mom." She muttered then tried to turn over only to recall that she was not at home, that she was in Vegas with Beaver's older brother.

Sitting up, rubbing her eyes, she saw Dick sitting in the nearby chair already dressed. "Dick, what time is it?"

"Almost ten thirty." He replied as his eyes veered from the Christmas tree towards her. "I wasn't sure what to do?"

Yawning, she sat up and admitted "I came out here at six to wait for you if you got up that early but I must have fallen back to sleep. Did my phone ring?"

"Don't know. I turned both yours and mine to vibrate last night before I went to bed." Dick replied as he stood and went to retrieve their phones from the small desk. "Yours is blinking."

Taking it and seeing it was her parents, Mac said "I will go shower and change before I call them back."

Dick watched as she stumbled towards her bedroom then seeing the comforter gave her some time to go shower then carried it into her room and placed it on her bed.

Hearing her voice from the bathroom, he realized she was speaking to her family as he heard her arguing with someone. When he heard her calling someone a little shit, he frowned then heard her telling Ryan that if he wasn't her brother she would feed him to the bears when they next went camping.

He had had no idea that Mac even HAD a brother but somehow that she wasn't an only child made sense. Exiting the room knowing he shouldn't be eavesdropping, he was getting ready to order them breakfast when he recalled that Mac had picked them up something the day before.

Finding the muffins and the juice bottles, he poured them into glasses and carried them out to the dining room just as she reentered wearing a nicely fitting pair of black cords and blue sweater. "Nice."

Frowning at how the sweater hugged her curves, Mac muttered that Lilly should be glad she was dead.

Freezing then recalling what nightmare Lilly had said about having another option to fix Veronica and Logan, he asked not really wanting an answer "You see Lilly, too?"

"Only recently and I think that she is gone. You should know she claims to be the reason you left your wallet at Cho's." Mac admitted.

Shrugging a bit, he said "It's not a surprise. Lilly got what Lilly wanted. It's the least horrible thing she ever did to me."

"What do you mean?" Mac asked.

"She is sort of why I dated Madison." He replied then not wanting to talk about his ex-girlfriend stated "Back when she first began dating Logan, I called her on some BS she was pulling. I never noticed that she used shiny objects AKA having sex for the first time with Madison of all people to distract me."

"I never really knew Lilly but I am getting the feeling she loved to manipulate people." Mac replied as she joined him on the sofa. Seated cross legged, she saw that he was still disturbed by what they had been talking about and asked "What is it?"

"You know, I don't like how Ronnie plays Logan, but I am beginning to accept that maybe I don't know the whole situation there. With Lilly however, I saw everything with my own eyes and ears. She was a total bitch, a hottie but a bitch none the less."

"If you only knew everything. It would change your mind I think on Veronica and Logan." Mac replied with a sigh. "When she was haunting me, I saw some stuff that makes me very glad I wasn't on her radar."

Dick handed her one of the glasses of juice then said "Let's just forget about them. What do we do now?"

"Presents or stockings?" Mac asked as she sat back with her soy banana muffin.

"When we are finished eating, presents." Dick replied then said "I have a few back at the penthouse from my mom and even from my ex-step mom Sadie but I forgot them."

"I left mine under the tree at home. I was going back to Neptune after fixing things for Logan and Veronica." She stated. "My parents asked if I had opened them, they thought I would cheat."

"Who is Ryan? Older or younger?" He asked.

"Younger. He is nine and there are days I love him and days that I wan to feed him to his dang Big Sur brown bears." She grumbled then felt regret knowing how Dick had lost Beaver.

"What did he do?" Dick asked.

"I got Mom and Dad this computer set up that teaches them how to use the computer and games. Ryan the cheat put his name on the cards when I forgot to write mine. My parents knew the truth, but Ryan was being Ryan." She said with a shrug.

"I called my mom, she is in Sacramento. My step dad and she were on their way to a brunch with his children." He stated. "I will call Logan later."

"I called Veronica while in the bathroom. They were cooking dinner with her dad, rather Logan was helping, and Veronica had been banned because she kept sneaking bites of food." Mac stated.

"That must have been interesting. Logan, Sheriff Mars and Ronnie in one room." Dick replied with a shudder.

"I think Cliff was there too. Veronica said that she spoke to Wallace who is in Chicago where they got hit with a foot and a half of snow. Turns out that storm we flew out of in Aspen really did some damage as it moved east."

"I always wanted to be snowed in." Dick said with a sigh. "I envied kids in the north who got snow days."

With a grin Mac said "I wanted to be snowed in but in my fantasy I was at a log cabin with plenty of heat, food and books all by myself."

"No boyfriend?" Dick asked.

"Nope, occasionally there was a cat or a dog but no humans but myself." She lied not wanting to admit that there was also a guy in the rotation but that he was usually a shadowy figure who she never actually saw.

When they finally finished breakfast, Dick found a neatly wrapped package with his name on it and one he had wrapped with Mac's name on it.

Handing it to her, he said "On the count of three. 1-2-3."

Both of them unwrapped their presents, Dick glad when Mac chuckled at the brightly colored holiday socks and had to laugh at what she had gotten him. Mac had gotten him t-shirt that read Got mistletoe? Santa was puckered up for a kiss.

"I figured it fit into your collection." She replied then lifted two more presents. Dick found a CD from one of his favorite bands and Mac unwrapped a box of bright pink hair dye.

"I liked it when it was pink." He admitted flushing a bit as he spoke.

Several more presents both gag and real were opened as they slowly removed everything from underneath the tree. When Mac opened the jewelry box that was her last gift she saw the small open heart and looked up in surprise at Dick.

"It was on the tree in the decorations department. I remember when you used to wear one when we were in middle school." He stated clearly not sure what he was telling her. "I noticed you no longer wore it last year."

Mac sat there then said "It was stolen from my gym locker in ninth grade."

She was not going to ask but needed to know so she did "Dick, did you know that it was Madison who took it?"

"Madison?" He asked turning pale as he began to worry that she believed he had known. "I swear, Mac. I didn't know. I just wanted to ask but we were never friends and how could I admit noticing that you no longer wore that heart."

Reaching over, she gripped his hand tightly then said "I believe you. I just was shocked. I never knew you ever paid any attention to me."

"How could I not? You blew the bell curve every single time we had a test." He lied not sure what he could tell her that wouldn't make this more awkward than it already was.

Mac looked at the various gifts that they had gotten one another and felt a sense of something stirring even if she didn't understand it at this moment. Seeing Dick's eyes were on the stockings, she stood and went to get them.

"Here, have your candy fix." She said with a laugh as he eagerly reached for the burgundy stocking trimmed in fake white fur.

Dick knelt down and dumped the stocking on the coffee table under the tree and reached eagerly for the small chocolate truffles that were his favorites.

Mac got rid of the wrapping paper and was sitting down when Dick suddenly got up and went to the last unopened bag. Finding the movies, he went to the DVD player and put in Scrooged. "I was thinking we could watch movies.

Chuckling, Mac went to her last bag and pulled out all of the board games. "The one family tradition that I loved when I was a kid was kicking my entire family's rear at board games. What would you like to lose at first?"

Dick looked through the bag and found Operation which was followed by Battleship. The movie was changed to A Christmas Story and the game became Clue which Mac won after losing the two previous games.

Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Dominos followed with both of them laughing hysterically as they took turns beating each other at the kid games while watching Santa Clause and The Nightmare before Christmas.

Mac looked up surprised to see that it was almost six thirty. "We should eat some real food."

"Candy isn't one of the main food groups?" Dick asked as he stood and stretched. He never saw that Mac's eyes had gone to the small bit of bare skin that was shown as he did so.

Mac got control of her suddenly racing hormones and went to the small room to cook their dinner. Twenty minutes later the microwave beeped to let her know that things were finished and she returned to the dining room to see that Dick had put out the glasses and the bottle of wine he had found.

Seeing that he had cleaned up and stacked the games, she was about to ask him to join her when he went to turn the music back on. Seated at the large table cattycorner to each other, they were about to begin to each when Dick asked "Uh, since it is Christmas, shouldn't we pray or something?"

"I don't really know any." She admitted "Except the one you say at bedtime."

"I think I remember the right one." He said then in a halting tone said prayer. At the amen, they looked awkwardly at each other then Dick said "My family was all about doing what was right when others were looking so I had to learn that once for a dinner we had with some archbishop."

Veronica and Logan were leaving the apartment complex together, Logan surprised to realize that he had just had one of the more enjoyable holidays of his life.

Pressing a kiss to his lips, Veronica asked if he was going to speak to tell her what he had been talking about regarding Dick earlier that day.

When we get to the beach he said as they walked Backup down to Dog Beach. Throwing a ball for the active dog to chase, Logan sat down next to Veronica and said "Dick likes Mac."

"What?!" Veronica was shocked then let her fear go as she got that she had to have misunderstood Logan. "What do you mean by like?"

"As in what I feel for you." He replied. Seeing her shock, he said "It's why he was so miserable when Beaver and she were going out. It wasn't deep but it was there, under the surface. I knew and I think so did Duncan but Beaver had no clue."

"Are you sure?" Veronica asked then seeing his surprise stated "Logan, Beaver's emotional issues went a lot deeper than we all realized. If he knew and he thought it would do some damage to his brother, he might have."

When Logan stayed quiet, Veronica told him what Mac had told her about the male dressed as a woman the year before. "She felt a bit guilty afterwords and was going to talk to Dick, but the way Beaver reacted, she didn't. I just have doubts about Beaver being clueless."

"God, I hope he was. I think knowing that Beaver knew and still went out with her, would make it more difficult for Dick to get over his fear and actually admit he has feelings to Mac."

Veronica stood and tossed the ball again for Backup then said "Still, it doesn't explain this year."

"It does if you understand Dick's mind. To him, Mac should be off limits, as his brother's girl. Yet it doesn't change how attracted he is to her. I think that is why he was so horrible to her at the beginning of the school year and why he drank so much. It is such an impossible situation for him."

Veronica sighed then said "Mac broke up with that PETA kid weeks ago, she won't speak to me about why and I am really, really hoping that you are wrong about what Dick is feeling."

"I think that they would be good." Logan replied then when she seemed to be ready to object, he pointed out. "Most would have said we should never be together, that we were a terrible idea."

Veronica wanted to say that it wasn't the same thing, but she was unhappily beginning to accept that maybe they were. "Is that why you think they could end up married? Don't you think that this is a little too soon."

"I am not saying it is definitely going to happen but I am afraid that if they get liquor in them and Dick's inhibitions are lowered, he would do something stupid like thinking that this was a way to end up with Mac without having to tell her the truth."

Veronica was contemplative as they walked back to the apartment to drop of Backup before heading to the hotel; looking back she could see that Dick's worst bouts of drunkenness had happened after a confrontation with Mac.

Not sure she liked it but getting it was not her choice, Veronica hugged her dad and went to walk Logan to his Xterra. Bruised lips and a lot of heavy breathing later, Veronica went back inside where her father was cleaning up for the night.

Dick's brain was numb as he looked down at Mac who had fallen asleep as they watched the final movie he had picked up. Brushing the stray strands off of Mac's face, Dick saw that the credits were running.

Slipping out of the room, he went to Mac's bedroom and pulled back her blankets before returning to the living room to try and attempt to wake her yet again.

When it didn't work, he grimaced and bent down to carry her to bed. In the bedroom, swallowing his fears, he looked at the turtleneck sweater and the cords and knew that she couldn't sleep comfortably wearing them.

Looking around, he found couldn't find her bed clothes so going back to the suitcases, he found a pale green t-shirt and tossed it on the bed along with a pair of gray sweats.

"Mac, please, wake up, I am not a saint." He begged but she stayed asleep in spite of his request.

Trying to change her out of her clothes with his eyes closed, he swore when he figured out it wouldn't work so opening them, he lifted her left arm and eased it out of the sweater sleeve then gently rested it on her stomach before doing the same to her right arm.

Lifting Mac a bit, he eased the back of her sweater up then the front before holding her hair so that he could remove it. Grabbing the t-shirt, keeping his eyes above her neck until he had gotten Mac covered.

Moving to her feet, he checked to make sure that her socks were off then begged yet again for Mac to wake up. His fingers went to the button on the cords and opened it.

Unzipping the cords, he moaned when he saw that she was wearing pale yellow panties that matched the bra he had tried to avoid looking at.

As he maneuvered her out of her pants, Dick reached for the sweats he had placed within reach. Tossing the ones he had removed onto the nearby chair, he gasped when she rolled over and buried her head into the pillow.

Dick didn't bothering attempting to get her into the sweats, instead he pulled the covers up over Mac and whispered thank you, for today.

Back in the living room, he waited, knowing that Logan was to call him when he was back at the hotel. He needed a reality check and speaking to his best friend would do that for him.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Over the next few days, Logan grew more confident in his relationship with Veronica than he had ever been but also more worried about what was going on between Dick and Mac. When he had called Dick at midnight on Christmas day after spending the day with the Mars family, the blond had been agitated at first then had gone silent.

When Logan had called the day after Christmas, he had gotten Dick's voice mail. The next day it had been the same, the only word he had had about his friend had come from a message left on Veronica's voice mail by Mac which had mentioned that Dick and she were planning on arriving home on New Year's day.

Pacing back and forth in the Mars Investigation office, waiting for Veronica to return from walking out a client, he missed the amused grin on Keith Mars face as he watched Logan.

"Logan, have I missed something?" Keith asked finally getting tired of the nervous pacing. "Why are you so worried?"

Stopping, Logan turned to look at Veronica's dad and asked "I really worry when I don't hear from Dick. You have no idea the trouble he can get into."

Veronica who had come back in, grinned then said "Let me guess, Logan is in over-protective daddy mode. He tends to get that way when it involves Dick lately."

"I am not Dick's father." Logan replied with a glare at his girlfriend who was smirking at him. "It's just that he is a bit of a mess lately. Mac and he off together, with no supervision. Who knows what kind of trouble that they can get into?"

Now hiding his own smile, Keith watched as Logan began pacing again. Walking to the telephone on Veronica's desk, he dialed a familiar number and asked for Fred Hammond. "Fred, I need a favor if you get some free time."

Whatever the man said, Keith laughed then said "A young couple in there in Vegas. They are staying at the Four Seasons in one of the penthouse suites."

There were some more words that Logan and Veronica couldn't hear but they did hear Keith's response. "No, it's nothing like that; both are just friends with my daughter."

Veronica grimaced at the idea of Dick being described as her friend but let it go.

"Yes, could you please do a walkabout at their hotel? I am more worried about the possibility they might do something stupid like get married." Keith said with a look at Logan who had gotten excited about getting help.

"I think I am going to puke." Dick moaned as they sat down on the bench. Looking up at the ride they had just gotten off of, he moaned and ignored Mac's laughter. "It's not funny, Mac."

"Yes it is, the big bad surfer was taken down by a kiddie ride." She said trying not to laugh but snickering in spite of herself. Holding up the stuffed monkey, she asked "So, monkey butt, why aren't your eyes all wide and out of focus like Dickie's?"

"Don't call him money butt." Dick moaned then added "Wait, and don't call me Dickie. It makes me sound like I am five."

"Oh the things I could say to that." Mac said as she checked Dick out to make sure he was getting over his nausea. When his skin was no longer green, she asked "What do you want to ride next?"

"A taxi sounds good." He said as he stood. Reaching out for Mac's arm, he said "It's getting close to time to lunch time. I thought we wanted to go to Fremont Street."

"Let's get some lunch first." She said leading him out of the circus tent. "So, what do we want to eat?"

"Burger, fries and a very large milkshake." Dick replied. "Or better yet a nice 32 ounce porterhouse with steak fries and side of creamed corn."

"So a heart attack on a bun or gluttony on a plate?" Mac replied wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"You can keep trying all you want, Mackie; I will never be converted to a vegetarian. I need my beef, my chicken, my lamb and my pork. I love me some piggy."

"You know this truce we came up with, it's hard to keep to it when you give me such lovely gifts. I should be given kudos for every single time I swallow the words back." Mac replied as they ended up at the hotel buffet. "I still think that it is highway robbery to pay 25 dollars for a buffet lunch."

Dick and Mac filled their plates and were eating when she noticed the man wearing a red ball cap near the column at the entrance. "Dick, that man in the red cap, he was at the hotel this morning. I think I saw him at the shops at the Forum, then at Circus, Circus when we left the game booth. Now he is here."

"Are you sure?" He asked as he eased his phone out and pretended to call someone. Getting the photo, he sent the picture to Logan with a message. "Logan, Mac and I are being followed. Ask Ronnie to look into it."

"Let's get out of here." Mac said as they began to walk towards the exit. In the street, they caught a taxi and got out at the nearby Treasure Island.

Finding a seat at the starting show, Mac wasn't paying any attention to what was going on as she kept an eye out for the man who was following them. "Dick, do you see him?"

Dick didn't answer; his eyes were on stage so Mac repeated the question. When she didn't get an answer the second time, she turned to look at the blond and ended up with a view of the battle going on onstage.

Rolling her eyes as Dick seemed unable to tear his eyes off the scantily clad women who were playing pirates. "Dick, the building is on fire."

"No it's not and your man, he is behind the show. Check out the man now wearing a cowboy hat near the stern of the boat." Dick replied as he reached for Mac's hand and said "You are wearing sneakers, right?"

"Yes." She replied and before she could ask why, he tugged at her hand and began ducking and weaving through the crowd until they were outside. "Where are we going?"

"There is a tram between the Mirage and us, we are going to catch that then if we are still being followed we will run across to the Forum at the Venetian. The monorail ends at MGM Grand."

"Why are we going there?" She asked as they got into the tram that arrived.

"There is a huge party there every New Year's eve. People show up starting at noon today. We will lose whoever is following us there and catch a cab back to the hotel. Are you up for towards heading home after the show and fireworks tonight?" Dick asked grimly.

He wasn't sure who was tracking them, but he wanted them back home on their turf so to speak. He was now regretting purchasing the Lexus SUV so that he could haul their stuff home, he didn't like the idea of being in separate vehicles on the trip back to Neptune.

"Why don't we head home now?" She asked.

"No, I promised to show you the Dancing water fountains on New Years and we are going to the show. No matter what happens." He replied as they got off the tram and ducking through the Mirage.

Past the volcano and through the casino, they rushed across the strip and into the Venetian. Once they were back at the Forum, Mac was glad to be on if not familiar ground at least ground they had been on earlier that day.

Catching the monorail after they exited the back door and crossed the landscaped gardens and ended up near Harrah's, Dick helped Mac settle into the seat and then asked "Aren't you glad that we had our packages shipped to the hotel, now?"

"It is never attractive when someone says I told you so." Mac said as she tossed Monkey Butt at him.

Taking out his real cell phone and turning it, almost hoping Veronica would begin tracking it, he asked. "Do you have Veronica's phone number?"

"Yes but my phone is still at the hotel, remember?" Mac replied only to be handed his. "I don't know that she will answer if she sees your number."

"Try it." He suggested as he watched out for their exit.

Mac punched in Veronica's cell phone number and was happy when she answered it. "Veronica, don't say anything but we are being followed. Dick sent Logan a photo of the guy. We will call back later."

With that, Mac hung up as she realized they were at the end of the monorail. Getting off, they walked around to the front of the hotel, which took almost twenty minutes. Grumbling at how large the hotels in Vegas were, Mac was soon seated next to Dick in the back seat and trying to catch her breath.

In their hotel suite, Mac went to pack her stuff while Dick did the same. When she returned to the living room, she saw the boxes that contained their tree and the ornaments.

"I called down, they will load the luggage and the cars will be waiting wherever we want them to be. Mac, I just don't think separate vehicles are such a good idea. Divide and conquer and all." He said as he glared at his phone, wondering why Veronica or Logan hadn't called him back. "I have to finish packing the stuff I brought with me."

Veronica was trying to reach her father, wanting to be sure that it was her father's friend who Mac had seen. She had tried to call Mac's phone and had gotten no answer, just her voice mail.

Now she was trying to reach Dick's number but it immediately went to voice mail each time she hit send. Frustrated, she went back to calling her father on the office phone while holding her cell phone to her other ear.

"Veronica?" Wallace entered the office only to be handed her phone and told to keep dialing Dick.

"Please tell me you know another Dick and that we aren't talking Dick Casablancas." Wallace groaned. "What did Logan do now?"

"Logan has done nothing." Veronica replied then said "Mac is in Las Vegas with Dick and they are being followed."

"Why is Mac in Vegas with the son of Satan?" Wallace asked shocked at what he was hearing.

"Long story, but here is the short version. Mac and I flew to Aspen so that I could talk to Logan. Mac and Dick flew to Vegas and then she went home and then drove back to Vegas. She spent Christmas with him."

"Dick?" Wallace asked yet again. "Have I wandered into the twilight zone?"

Logan and Keith were entering the office at the same time and the former sheriff called out. "Veronica, I called, its not one of Fred's people."

Turning to Logan, Veronica said "Mac isn't answering her phone and she called me earlier on Dick's. She said she sent you a photo of the man."

Taking out his phone, Logan checked his text messages and handed it over to Veronica who passed it on to her dad.

"Damn, I know this guy." Keith replied with a glare at the picture. He was already walking to his office when he turned to his daughter and said "Veronica download this to the computer so that I can send it to Fred. This isn't good. He is a retrieval specialist."

"A what? What is a retrieval specialist?" Wallace asked the question that Logan was thinking. "Veronica, what is that?"

Now seated, she typed quickly and soon had the photo sent to her dad's computer. Looking up she said "It's a private investigator that specializes in retrieving people. Normally they are after kids grabbed by fighting spouses but this time, who knows what this guy is up to."

Logan was calling Dick and he was also getting his voice mail. As soon as it kicked over to voice mail, he hung up and dialed Dick's number again and again. Finally hearing a hello, he said "Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"We were too busy running." Dick replied. "I am finishing packing. We will be on the road home a little after midnight."

"Wait, why are you waiting so long? Why don't you order the jet?" Logan asked even as he put Dick on speakerphone.

"We have plans for tonight and I am not canceling them." Dick said then they could hear the sounds of his zipping up his suitcase. "I made a promise to Mac. Did that pit bull you are in love with find out anything?"

Growling, Veronica moved forward and resisted the urge to snap as she said "The man following you is someone my dad knows. He is someone who normally tracks missing kids. I know that he isn't after Mac, so what is trying to track you, Dick?"

"I don't have a clue." Dick replied.

"What about your mom?" Wallace asked sure that even someone like Dick had a mom who loved him out there, someplace in this world.

"My mother has a new family and I am disposable. She wouldn't have anyone looking for me. Veronica, why are you so sure that they aren't looking for Mac. I mean, it makes more sense because no one is looking for me." Dick said as he double-checked to make sure he had everything.

"No, Mac's family is known." Veronica replied with an uneasy expression on her face.

Dick looked down at what he was wearing, muttered and an oath and quickly changed into the suit hanging in the garment bag then said "Then I don't know what is going on. Look, we are going to the Circe de Soliel show, before heading to the special show at the Bellagio. We will be on the road a little after midnight."

Hanging up, he went to check on Mac and to remind her to change. Stopping in the doorway, he said "Wow."

Spinning around, Mac smirked and said "Will I do?"

"You look nice." He said quietly as he took in her simple cocktail dress. She had refused to pick up something while out today at the Forum saying that she already had a dress when he had gotten a suit for the night.

"Thank Lilly." She said with a smirk as she looked down at the silky dark colored dress that she was shocked to realize she liked once she had had it on. The bodice covered her nicely and the length was just above the knee, her only complaint was the low back line but that was covered by the matching forest green wrap. "I did change the shoes to ballerina flats though."

Grimacing he said "Good idea. I spoke to Logan and Veronica. You had better call Ronnie and let her explain because they only know who it is, not why he is following us."

Mac turned her cell phone back on and checked her messages. Finding several from Vee and one from her parents, she called her Mom first.

Ending with a happy new year, she hung up and called the blond. "Veronica, what is going on? Dick said you know the guy."

Hearing what they knew, she asked "What about Dick's dad? Maybe he wants to bring Dick to wherever he is."

Dick shook his head no then leaned in and whispered for her to put it on speakerphone. "Veronica it's not my dad. He was pissed about my refusing to send him money. Disowned me."

"My dad had an idea; he just left to go speak to someone." Veronica replied. "Mac, I really wish that the two of you would head home, this staying for the party tonight, isn't such a good idea."

"We will be safe. I promise to stick as close as possible to Dick." She vowed then seeing Dick's smirk added "So get the flea powder ready for tomorrow."

"Are you implying my best friend is a dog?" Logan asked with a chuckle when he heard Dick's growl.

"If it sniffs butts like a dog, chases its own tail and howls at the moon, yup." Mac replied then smacking Dick's arm, added "Besides, we all know that he dated Madison, to me that is proof enough right there."

Dick laughed, unable to help himself when he heard Veronica mentioning something about Madison being a bitch in heat, then said "We have to get going. Ronnie, I am going to leave my prepaid phone on. Can you track it like Mac did?"

"No, not a prepaid." She replied reluctantly. "Why not leave on your regular phone."

"I think its how whoever this is, is tracking us. I had it on me earlier. Mac didn't have her cell phone; it was here in the hotel." Dick stated then added "How about I text you near the hour until we are back home."

"Good." Logan liked that idea and saw that Veronica was about to protest so he added "Veronica and I will be at the hotel if you arrive too late. Mac can crash there too."

"I have to go there anyhow. I left my bag there when I kidnapped Veronica to bring her to Aspen." Mac stated then noticing the time said "We have to go."

Hanging up, she took a deep breath then turned her phone off and put it in the side pocket of her messenger bag.

In Neptune, Wallace reluctantly left to go to the party where his fellow ball players were spending the night celebrating the end of the old year and the coming of the new. He had considered asking Piz but with Logan mentioning that Veronica and he might stop in, Wallace reconsidered, knowing that Piz's crush wouldn't go away if he was around Veronica.

"What did you say to your dad that had him high-tailing it out of here?" Logan asked as Veronica grabbed her laptop so that they could try to track Mac and Dick.

"I'm not sure it had anything to do with his idea of what is going on. I just told him that Weevil's cousin returned his Crown Vic." Veronica replied as they went to Logan's bright yellow Xterra.

At the hotel, Logan had ordered all of Veronica's favorites as they turned on the Dick Clark's Rocking New Year only for it to be turned off just as quickly. "Sorry can't stand, Ryan Seacrest. Too much exposure to his smirky face and things will fly at the television."

"Ah, the king of the smirky expression doesn't like it when others smirk. Got it." Veronica replied only to be tugged down next to him on the sofa and thoroughly kissed.

"Ryan Seacrest doesn't have half the skills I do." He replied with a growl then kissed her yet again. Hearing her stomach growling, he let her go and handed her a plate full of food. "Let's eat before my appetite is ruined.

Keith wasn't sure that this was such a good idea as he waited for someone to open the door at the large house in the 09er zip code.

When the door opened, the bitchy blond standing there, scowled then closed the door in his face before he could say anything.

Ringing the doorbell again, he heard two female voices then a young girl who could only be Mac's biological sister opened the door and said "May I help you?"

"Don't let him in." Madison ordered then looking at the father of the girl she hated added "He has no business here."

"Ignore Madison." Lauren replied with a smile at her sister. Madison had been grumpy since she had gotten home from her ski trip and Lauren was sure that it was because her parents had refused to let her to go to Hawaii until school started again.

"Is your father here?" Keith asked and was told yes, that Lauren would go get him.

Madison stood nearby glaring at the man who seemed to be totally ignoring her and that made her annoyance grow. Just as she was about to insult him again, her dad came down the hallway and greeted Veronica's father like he was a long lost friend.

Scoffing in disgust, she stomped up the stairs and called out "I have a party to go to."

Mr. Sinclair led Keith to his office and asked "How is your head?"

"Better, thankfully my head is pretty hard to damage. This isn't about the accident. Is your wife at home? I really need to speak to both of you." Keith asked politely.

"She should be down in a few minutes. We had plans for New Years and they got canceled last minute so she decided to change out of her dress." Offering Keith a drink, he poured both of them a glass of water.

"Did Sheriff Lamb tell you that the woman in the car was caught? She was arrested and extradited to Santa Barbara where she was facing some felony charges."

"No, other than taking my statement about how you were hurt, I never spoke to that idiot." Moira had joined them and poured herself a glass of water before sitting down near her husband. "So, what is going on, Sheri-er, sorry, it might have been four years, but I still tend to think of you as Sheriff, Keith."

"It's fine. I have to do something, please understand." With that, Keith set up the electronic devise and soon stated. "It's a white noise blocker. Unless someone is in the room with us, they won't hear what I am about to ask you."

"Okay, what is going on, Keith." The attorney's face went stern; worried his family might be in danger.

"Did either of you hire an investigate firm to follow your daughter?" He asked.

"No, we thought of doing so, with Madison's attitude lately." Mark replied.

"Not that daughter." He answered and saw that while Moira knew who he was talking about she didn't know about the team out of San Diego. Mark's face on the other hand was now in attorney mode.

Looking at him, Keith said "They were seen and I have spent the day helping my daughter track them down. Dick and she are driving home tonight, my daughter is worried and Logan wanted to go to meet them halfway until I talked him down."

Mark felt guilty and looking at his wife said "I just… the day of the accident. She came with your daughter to the hospital. I saw her; she was inches away and didn't even know who I was. I just… well lost perspective. I went to San Diego the next day, at first I just wanted to know about her, then it became that I wanted to know if she knew about us."

"She does." Moira said softly.

Mark looked at his wife and then said "How do you know?"

"Madison's birthday party during her junior year. She was here, she forgot her purse. I saw her the next day when she came back to get it. I followed her. I didn't speak to her; she was with, with them." Moira replied, the longing in her voice telling the story without words.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mark asked.

"She saw me, crossed the street to where I was in the car. I- put my hand to the window- She placed hers against the glass, smiled then walked away. I knew; I just knew that she knew. I couldn't tell you, you have always been so upset at her not knowing. We both know that is why you overindulge Madison. You are trying to make up for something she never knew about." Moira said then taking the handkerchief that Keith offered wiped away her tears.

"She knew. Cindy knew?" Mark said his voice small at the idea of his daughter, the child he had helped create not saying a word to him.

"I spoke to Veronica about this. Without giving away Mac's personal secrets, I can tell you that she learned a few days before that party she crashed." Keith stated.

Seeing them nodding that they heard, he added "From what I understand, Mac had questions but she loves her parents and she would never do anything to hurt them by going any further with those questions to protect them."

"I opened a huge can of worms, didn't I?" Mark asked somberly.

"No, I know Mac pretty well. I know that the reason she went looking for answers is that she felt off, like she didn't belong. She expected to find out she was adopted."

"Does she hate us?" Moira asked.

"No, Mac isn't made like that. I don't think she hates like that. I have known her for a few years through her friendship with Veronica and she is smart and kind." Keith stated.

"With everything that happened at the end of the school year, I just was so worried about her. After what happened with the Casablancas boy." Mark stated.

"Beaver's problems did do a number on Mac, but she does have emotional support. Her parents got her into counseling and she went. Veronica and the rest of her friends are a good support system; plus there is Logan Echolls."

"That Echolls boy being friends with her isn't something that I consider a good idea." Mark admitted. "He is too close to the other Casablancas boy and trust us, we have seen too much of Richard during when he was dating Madison."

Keith debated staying silent then knew that it would be better coming from him. "Mac is friends with Dick. I am not trying to denigrate your daughter Madison, but trust me when I say that there are things you aren't aware of regarding her dating Dick, not that I am saying he is innocent, knowing Dick I am sure he is equally as guilty as Madison."

"Such as?" Mark asked his voice growing dangerous.

"What I know I heard from eavesdropping on my daughter and some of the stuff came up during the investigation regarding the late Lilly Kane as well as from my own observations." Keith said trying to find a way to explain how he would know what he was about to tell them.

"I think we need to know." Moira said softly as she looked at the small electronic box he had brought and beginning to understand that he had brought it so that Madison wouldn't hear them talking.

Keith asked "Do you know how Dick and Madison began dating?"

"No, I just figured he asked her out, she said yes, though I have never understood why." Mark replied.

"In truth, Lilly Kane made a deal with Madison. From what I pieced together, Lilly knew Logan liked Veronica and that Dick knew about it. She wanted Dick distracted because he had threatened to tell Logan about her manipulations. The deal was Lilly would let Madison into her inner circle if she distracted Richard by dating him."

Gasping, Mark asked "How sure are you about this?"

"Do you really think I would be telling another parent these stories if I didn't know them to be true?" Keith asked and saw Mark's anger deflate.

Keith looked at them and said "Logan and I were speaking this week about Richard, he was worried about Mac and Dick hanging out together in Vegas this week and was a bit more honest with me than I am guessing he realized. Dick would break up with Madison; she would just act like it never happened. This went on from the night during their sophomore year Madison made the deal with Lilly."

"Madison said that he cheated on her, that that was why she ended things with him. That she had just outgrown his immaturity." Moira stated.

"I don't know about that, I do know that your daughter was having a relationship last year with my replacement, Don Lamb." Mark went to stand, wanting to confront Madison but looking at his wife sat back down. "What else?"

"Do you know why your daughter went to Aspen?" Keith asked.

"She went with the Pomeroys." Moira said.

"She went with Shelley, yes. Shelley went to track down her boyfriend, John. Shelley apparently admitted to John Enblom that the only reason Madison went was because she heard Logan and Veronica were having problems. When she learned that Veronica and Logan were there together, she stole two presents she saw under the tree that they had gotten each other."

"Oh god." Mark was not happy with his daughter.

"Logan and Veronica confronted her and got the gifts back." Keith explained. "She isn't a bad teenager, trust me, I have seen terrible kids but Madison has a deep loathing for others she feels are beneath her. Mac and Veronica seem to be the biggest targets for her wrath."

"Mac?" Mark didn't like hearing that. "Is this about her friendship with Casablancas?"

"No, this started long before high school. In middle school, Mac had a necklace stolen. A heart that she was given by Natalie's mother. It wasn't anything too expensive but it was something she inherited. I don't know how you weren't made aware of it, but the school contacted the police to file a report."

Moira froze and in an odd tone asked "Seventh grade. Easter time."

"Yes." Keith said not telling them that he had gone looking into Madison after the car accident. What he had learned was not really a surprise but clearly it was to her parents.

Moira looked dispirited at Mark and said "I found it in her trash can and asked her about it. She said that she found it in the bathroom at school and forgot to throw it out. She took it from my hands, deliberately broke the chain and threw it back out."

"Mac reported that she ripped it off her neck, there was a mark that was photographed of her neck. We searched Madison's locker and several of her friends and never found it but the vice principal always believed Mac."

"Mom?"

The three adults turned to where Lauren was standing, clearly having been in the room the entire time. Seeing the look on her parents face, she said "I was reading and wanted to know what was going on so I stayed quiet. But, I need to tell you something."

"What do you know, Lauren?" Mark asked hugging his youngest child to reassure her she wasn't in trouble.

"Madison's 17th birthday party. I heard her talking to Mac that night and later with Shelley and Kimmie. Mac ended up in here the night of the party and Madison was really, really mean to Mac. I heard her talking to the other girls later and she was saying how she spit into Veronica's drink at a party the year before then trashed her car and wrote bad words on it."

"That was the night my daughter was drugged and attacked later in a bedroom by the younger Casablancas boy." Keith stated. "There is bad blood between all three of the girls, now add in Dick and Logan and there is no easy way to smooth things out."

"So my dream of having my family together in a few years isn't going to happen." Mark said getting that he really might have stuck his foot in it this time.

"Not likely." Keith said. "I am sorry to dump all of this on you and run, but I have to reassure Mac and Dick that they aren't in any danger."

"I will call the firm first thing tomorrow morning." Mark promised Keith. "If you think my, our daughter is ever willing to talk to us…"

Veronica hung up the phone then sat there, not sure what to say to Logan but knowing she had to tell him something. "We know who hired the investigator. I need to call Mac."

"They will have their phone off until the show is over." Logan replied then went to roll the room service cart into the hallway. When he returned, he heard what Veronica was saying on Mac's voice mail and waited. "What secret?"

"Sit down." Veronica said patting the spot next to her. "No one knows this but Mac and myself and now my dad but Mac's parents aren't her parents. Her biological parents hired the investigator recently."

"Why is it such a secret?" Logan asked.

"I wish I could tell you but if I tell you anymore you will figure it out and Mac wants to keep it a secret." Veronica said clearly torn between wanting to tell him and protecting her friend.

"It must be huge, this secret I mean." Logan said.

"Life changing and Mac's parents don't know that she is aware of what happened. She met her biological mother a few years ago, but she wants to stay where she is. If the truth came out, it would affect more than just Mac, Logan."

"How did your dad figure it out?" He knew from eavesdropping on Keith's call that he had only done so recently.

"He knows her parents." Veronica said then admitted "We all do."

"Damn. It's not the Kanes is it? I mean with her computer skills, it would make sense. Duncan and Lilly certainly didn't inherit any of Jake's ability." Logan stated being brutally honest. "I mean, with Duncan I was always kind of surprised he knew how to turn the computer on."

Unable to help herself, she chuckled then said "I know its one of things that makes you wonder about Celeste cheating on Jake but no, Mac isn't a Kane."

"At least Mac and Dick won't be so worried during the drive home now." Logan said then looking at the clock went to pour them each a glass of sparkling wine. "It's almost midnight."

Pulling over to stop at the small diner, Dick saw that Mac was yawning as she got out of her small Beetle. "Mac, there is a hotel at the other intersection. Maybe we should stop for the night."

Smiling tiredly at him, she said "Dick we are just outside of LA. We will be home in a few hours. Wouldn't you rather sleep in your own bed?"

"Not really. I was planning on crashing at Logan's tonight but I really don't want to listen to Veronica and him all night."

"What about your house?" she asked.

"My father's house." He corrected then admitted "I haven't been back there since the day my mom took me to Sacramento."

"Oh Dick." He could hear the pity in her voice and just shrugged.

"Anyhow, I am thinking that as soon as I can find a place, I will move out of the frat. If I want to keep my resolution, I will have to." He stated then added "Plus, after seeing Lilly, I decided to stop drinking. Maybe I should consider it."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Not completely but maybe cutting down a lot. And living in the frat wouldn't be good for that either. So?" with a shrug, he took out his cell phone and dialed the operator.

Getting the number, he called over to the Hampton Inn and asked for a room with two beds. "Okay, let's fill up and go crash for the night."

Exiting the station, he heard the distant sound of bells and said as they arrived at the Beetle. "It's now midnight on the West Coast; Happy New Years, Mac."

This time, Mac remembered her vow to be less conservative and couldn't resist standing on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to Dick's cheek. "Happy New Years to you too, Dick. I agree though, let go get some sleep."

Not sure why she had kissed him, but glad she had, Dick told her to follow him then crossed the highway, pulling up the driveway past the Hampton Inn sign.

Once in the room, he waited as she changed into some pajamas first then went to put something on himself knowing he couldn't share a room with Mac in just his boxer briefs. No, that was not a good idea at all. It might give away secrets he would prefer to stay secret.

As Mac's breathing evened out, Dick stared up at the ceiling, wondering if he could manage to keep his admitted New Years resolution, knowing he had no choice but to keep the one only he knew, because this time, this time someone with Casablancas blood was going to do the right thing, not the selfish thing.

The clock moved forward and Logan heard the distant sound of fireworks as he leaned down to kiss Veronica. Pulling back he smiled then said "It's the New Year."

"Yes it is." She said with an answering smile as he stood and held out his hand for her. Arriving at the door of his bedroom, she said "Happy New Year, Logan. Here's hoping this New Year will be better than the last."

"It wasn't all bad." He whispered as he bent down and kissed her until she was breathless. Tugging her hand to pull her further into the bedroom, he added "I am where I have always wanted to be."

"And where is that exactly?" she asked even as she found herself being lowered onto his bed.

"With you." He answered as he lifted the hem of her sweater and eased it up over her head. Tossing it on the nearby chair, he unzipped her jeans and was soon tossing them next to the sweater.

When he moved back, Veronica reached to remove her socks only to be ordered to leave them on. Laughter filled the room as she looked at him and accused him of having a sock fetish.

"Fine, they can come off." He said bending over to pull from the toe end, slowing removing the thin white socks and they floated in the air soon landing halfway between the bed and the chair.

Reaching behind Veronica, he soon had her bra off and had cupped her breasts with his hands. He groaned his appreciation and dipped his head to capture one pale pink nipple with his lips tormenting her with his tongue then transferred his attention to her other breast.

"Logan." She moaned his name, wanting him, needing to know if this togetherness they had found carried over to their physical relationship.

"You know, you are absolutely incredible." He breathed, his eyes darkening as he ran his hands down her stomach and gripped her hips, lifting them so that she could get rid of the tiny panties she was wearing.

Standing up, quickly getting rid of his shirt and cargo pants, he found it difficult to toe off his shoes, making Veronica laugh at his desperation.

Soon naked, he sank down beside her and with almost indecent haste returned to driving her as insane as she drove him on a daily basis. "I can't believe I held off on this for over a week. I must have been crazy."

Pulling Logan back into a kiss, Veronica found herself flat on her back, enjoying the almost urgent attention he was showering on her. When she could no longer take the aching deep inside of her, she shoved him on his back and moved over him. "Logan?"

"Yes." He said his eyes hazy as they took in the clear expression of love in her eyes. "Was there something you wanted?"

"You, inside of me. Us, together." She answered then after a moment added "But we have all the time in the world, Logan. I am going no where, I promise."

Rising up so that he could press a gentle kiss to her lips, he reached for the hand wearing his mother's ring and pressed it against his heart. "I know, because you Veronica Mars wouldn't be wearing this ring if you didn't mean to be my forever."

The kisses were still possessive but the desperation went away as Logan felt Veronica's arms slide around his waist and her head rest against his wildly beating heart.

"I love you, Logan Echolls. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that what I feel for you isn't something that will fade away with time. I know we have bumps in the road ahead of us, but I also know that I can't imagine a family without you in it."

"Veronica." His voice cracked as he realized that she was serious about this that there wouldn't be another breakup, that there would be no more pushing him away. That she understood that they wouldn't be perfect, wouldn't be this imaginary idea of normal that she had needed as a safety net, but that what was coming for them would just be things for them to overcome, not separately but together.

Lowering his head, he was mere millimeters away from her lips when he whispered "I love you too."

Claiming her lips, he gently rebuilt their want and need, this time going slowly.

Veronica curled her arms around his neck, arching towards him when he trailed his lips down her throat and over the softness of her breasts. His hands caressing her side; down her back, wanting no needing the contact with her bare skin.

Logan heard her moaning his name even as he kept touching her. When her hands went to his stomach, then lower he moaned "I don't have that much control right now, Veronica."

"Show me." She said softly and when he moved over her and entered her she pressed a kiss to his shoulder, knowing that this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

As they moved together, setting an urgent rhythm that had Veronica wrapping her legs around him and reveling in his driving her higher and higher, until Logan lost all sense of control as he claimed her again and again.

They felt the earth shattering reality of first Veronica going over the cliff, Logan following as her inner muscles contracting sent him over the edge with her.

His throat aching with emotions, Logan found himself almost not believing that this was real as he held her close. When Veronica leaned in to press a kiss to his lips, he smiled and said "Forever?"

"Forever." With that, the happy couple finally fell asleep, her hand resting on his heart, his holding her close.

TBC


End file.
